title: Analysis of microbial load on surgical instruments after clinical use and following manual and automated cleaning.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We aimed to monitor the microbial load and identify the microorganisms recovered from surgical instruments after clinical use and following manual and automated cleaning.
  
  
  METHODS
  This experimental study was carried out in the Laboratory of Oral Microbiology and Anaerobes at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Microbial samples were taken from 125 surgical instruments used in 25 types of gastrointestinal surgeries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average microbial load was 93.1 CFU/100 mL after clinical use and 41 CFU/100 mL and 8.24 CFU/100 mL on instruments following 2 sequential steps of manual cleaning, respectively, and 75 CFU/100 mL and 16.1 CFU/100 mL on instruments after automated cleaning. Surgical wound classification significantly affected the microbial load recovered on instruments. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Acinetobacter baumannii complex were recovered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The average microbial load observed after the cleaning steps decreased, and the decrease in microbial load was more pronounced using the manual method compared with that observed using the automated method.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Nursing, School of Nursing, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Electronic address: sintiaufmg@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Síntia de Souza
authors.initials: Sde S
authors.lastname: Evangelista
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Simone Gonçalves
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Aparecida
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Resende Stoianoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Nursing, School of Nursing, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana Cristina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001938:Brazil; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D013525:Surgical Instruments / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Infection Control; Medical device reprocessing; Microbiology; Patient safety