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| Year : 2010 | Volume
: 8
| Issue : 16 | Page : 186-188 |
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Assessment of Sterilization Efficacy of Domestic Pressure Cooker
A Sujatha, L Nagesh, GN Karibasappa
Post graduate student, Professor and Head, Reader, Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, Bapuji Dental College and HospitaDavan.gere, Karnataka, India
Correspondence Address:
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
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Background: There is injustice and inequality in the availability of health care services to the economically disadvantaged population. Conducting outreach programs is one of the strategies to overcome the existing disparity. Maintaining aseptic conditions while providing health care with simple and appropriate technology is the need of the hour.
Objectives: To assess the sterilization efficacy of domestic pressure cooker maintained at 15 pounds of pressure for various time intervals of 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes and 30 minutes.
Methods: Bacillus stearothennophilus spore strips were used for testing the sterilization efficacy of pressure cooker. A control strip was tested for the viability of spores. The spore strips were kept in pressure cooker at 15 pounds of pressure at various time intervals of 15, 20, 25 and 30 minutes. The processed spore strips were kept in nutrient broth and incubated at 55c for 5 days. At the end of 5 days, smears were prepared on slides; gram staining was done and viewed under compound microscopy.
Results: Control strip showed gram positive rods indicative of bacillus stearothermophilus under compound microscopy. The spore strips kept in pressure cooker at 15 pounds of pressure at time intervals of 15, 20, 25 and 30 minutes did not show any gram positive rods after 5 days of incubation. This clearly indicates that the spores were completely destroyed at all the tested time intervals.
Conclusions: Pressure cooker being economically affordable and practically feasible can be used for sterilization at outreach programs and health care centers. |
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