Assessment of the efficacy of a low temperature hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization system.

The STERRAD 100 sterilization system (Johnson & Johnson Medical Ltd) uses low temperature hydrogen peroxide gas plasma for sterilization of heat labile equipment. The efficacy of the machine was tested by contaminating a standard set of instruments with different organisms and using a filtration method to assess recovery of organisms from the wash fluids of instruments post-sterilization. Experiments were performed under clean (the organism only) and dirty (organism mixed with egg protein) conditions. A parallel study conducted using a 3M STERIVAC ethylene oxide sterilizer could not be completed owing to closure of the ethylene oxide plant. For sterilization of instruments with long and narrow lumens, hydrogen peroxide adaptors are necessary. The STERRAD 100 sterilizer can achieve effective sterilization of heat labile instruments with a reduction of 6 log10 cfu/mL of organisms tested. This method has the advantages over ethylene oxide sterilization of safety, ease of maintenance and no requirement for aeration time.