Abstract
Sterilization plays an important role in the chore of providing quality care to the patients. Therefore, it is significant for the health care workers to understand the significance of proper sterilization. Keeping the importance of proper monitoring and sterilization process in the Hospital, it was planned to check the effectiveness of autoclave by multiple parameters. The study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology in teamwork with Central sterilization Supply Department (CSSD) of Jan Nayak Ch Devi Lal Dental College, Sirsa. The sterilization was monitoring aqurding to Health Technical Memorandum No-10. It included the monitoring of autoclaves in CSSD by physical, chemical and biological. The study was carried out for 10 months. Chemical and physical monitoring of autoclaves was done daily and the biological monitoring of autoclave was done 2 times in a month. For physical monitoring pressure and temperature gauzes were monitored and records were maintained in log book. In case of chemical indicators Browne’s tubes and self adhesive autoclave tapes were used. Spore strip of B. stearothermophilus used as biological indicator. Out of total 20 tests 3 (15%) were failed and 17 (85%) were passed showed that the sterilization was efficient. So the results of biological controls were in variance with the physical and chemical controls with the former detecting 15% failure and the later detecting none. The study provided the estimate that the monitoring of autoclaves should be carried out daily. Biological monitoring should be done for proper monitoring of autoclave because chemical indicators only shows that the Sterilization process is complete, but biological indicator shows that the sterilization is effective, satisfactory and up to the desired level.