Assume that you are responsible for decontaminating material

Assume that you are responsible for decontaminating materials in a large hospital. How would you sterilize each of the following? Briefly justify your answers.

a. a mattress used by a patient with bubonic plague

b. intravenous glucose-saline solutions

c. used disposable syringes

d. tissues taken from patients

Section: 7.4; 7.5

Bloom\'s Taxonomy: Synthesis

ASMcue Outcome: 7.3a

Learning Outcome: 7.7

Global Outcome: 8

Solution

a. a mattress used by a patient with bubonic plague- the mattress will be exposed to ultraviolet germicidal radiation. UV radiation penetrates and kills fungal cells and its spores.

b. intravenous glucose-saline solutions- keep the solutions in autoclave overnight to maintain sterile solutions preventing contamination or boil the solutions so as to kill any bacteria before use

c. used disposable syringes- should be thrown away when it is for one time use. if syringes need to be sterilized for future use it can be treated with ethylene oxide gas to kill any bacteria and avoid contamination. Ultimately these synringe waste needs to be placed as bio waste for disposing when finished.

d. tissues taken from patients- can be sterilized using ethylene oxide gas sterilization or placing under gamma irradiation