Residual protein contamination of ProSeal laryngeal mask airways after two washing protocols.

The risk of prion protein cross-infection has focussed attention on the potential hazards of protein contamination of re-usable medical devices. This study determined the frequency of protein contamination of ProSeal laryngeal mask airways (PLMA) after two cleaning procedures and tested the hypothesis that the combination of hand- and machine-washing removes protein contamination more effectively than hand-washing alone. After clinical use fifty-four PLMAs were randomly allocated to be washed by hand or by hand then machine.

Routine cleaning and autoclaving does not remove protein deposits from reusable laryngeal mask devices.

Unlabelled: We tested the hypothesis that routine cleaning and autoclaving does not remove protein deposits from reusable laryngeal mask airways (LMAs). All previously used classic and flexible LMAs from a single hospital were tested. Each LMA was hand-washed in an enzymatic solution for 3 min, machine-washed with a disinfectant for 14 min at up to 85 degrees C; dried for 30 min at 75 degrees C, packaged in porous film, and autoclaved for 4 min at 134 degrees C.