UNIT PACKAGING CONTROL OF REUSABLE MEDICAL DEVICES: EXPERIENCE OF MOHAMED V MILITARY TEACHING HOSPITAL – RABAT

M. R. Sefrioui*, M. Lamrabet, J. El Harti, A. Laatiriss, Y. Cherrah and S. Derraji

ABSTRACT

Background: Patient safety has become a priority in Public Health. The quality assurance applied to hospital sterilization is based on several standards, including the Good Hospital Pharmacy Practices (GHPP). Packaging operations is a fundamental step in the process of sterilizing reusable medical devices. From the quality provided at this level also flows the quality and safety of the sterilization step. Our study has a twofold objective: To highlight the main packaging errors and to highlight the impact of the quality of the packaging on the sterilization. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study, spread over a period of one week, from October 16 to 21, 2017. This study is carried out at the Central Sterilization Service of the Mohamed V Military Teaching Hospital, Rabat - Morocco. The control of packaging is focused on unit packaging, paper / plastic bag by methylene blue method and container packaging by the method of leakage of water. The processing and the statistical analysis of the data are carried out thanks to Excel software. Results and Discussion: Of 1824 tested packets, 96% are compliant and 4% are non-compliant. The main nonconformities noted are: the opening of the solder by bursting of bag, fusion of the plastic material in direct contact with the basket-carrier. The control of the containers concerned 132 units of which 77% are compliant and 23% are non-compliant. Of these, 20% is due to the non-compliance of the cover and 2% is the non-compliance due to filter problems. The results of our investigation are satisfactory compared to those of a French study by J. Molina and All, whose container non-conformity is always linked to the presence of leaks in the water tests. Conclusion: It is essential or even mandatory, to make all agents aware of the need to ensure correct controls on all sterilization processes. The establishment of quality indicators (control, validation ...) remains mandatory. This involves preventive and corrective actions: continuous training and regular reassessment of agents' practices.

Keywords: Sterilization - Packaging - Reusable Medical Devices - Control.