Validation of Autoclave Protocols for Successful Decontamination of Category A Medical Waste Generated from Care of Patients with Serious Communicable Diseases | Zendy

Brian T. Garibaldi | Zendy; Mallory Reimers | Zendy; Neysa Ernst | Zendy; Gregory Bova | Zendy; Elaine Nowakowski | Zendy; James Bukowski | Zendy; Brandon Ellis | Zendy; Chris Smith | Zendy; Lauren Sauer | Zendy; Kim Yi Dionne | Zendy; Karen C. Carroll | Zendy; Lisa L. Maragakis | Zendy; Nicole Parrish | Zendy

Open Access

Validation of Autoclave Protocols for Successful Decontamination of Category A Medical Waste Generated from Care of Patients with Serious Communicable Diseases

Author(s) -

Brian T. Garibaldi,

Mallory Reimers,

Neysa Ernst,

Gregory Bova,

Elaine Nowakowski,

James Bukowski,

Brandon Ellis,

Chris Smith,

Lauren Sauer,

Kim Yi Dionne,

Karen C. Carroll,

Lisa L. Maragakis,

Nicole Parrish

Publication year - 2016

Publication title -

journal of clinical microbiology

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 2.349

H-Index - 255

eISSN - 1070-633X

pISSN - 0095-1137

DOI - 10.1128/jcm.02161-16

Subject(s) - waste management , medical waste , medicine , sterilization (economics) , autoclave , biomedical waste , biosafety , human decontamination , intensive care medicine , medical emergency , health care , business , engineering , pathology , finance , chemical engineering , exchange rate , economics , foreign exchange market , economic growth

In response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014, many hospitals designated specific areas to care for patients with Ebola and other highly infectious diseases. The safe handling of category A infectious substances is a unique challenge in this environment. One solution is on-site waste treatment with a steam sterilizer or autoclave. The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) installed two pass-through autoclaves in its biocontainment unit (BCU). The JHH BCU and The Johns Hopkins biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) clinical microbiology laboratory designed and validated waste-handling protocols with simulated patient trash to ensure adequate sterilization. The results of the validation process revealed that autoclave factory default settings are potentially ineffective for certain types of medical waste and highlighted the critical role of waste packaging in successful sterilization. The lessons learned from the JHH validation process can inform the design of waste management protocols to ensure effective treatment of highly infectious medical waste.

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