RESUMO
In traumatological hospitals the medical orthopedic articles made of polymer materials are contaminated by different microorganisms including pathogenic staphylococci, therefore they can serve as a factor of transmission of hospital-associated staphylococcal infections. Polymer materials used for medical orthopedic articles are not bactericidal. Mechanical cleaning with detergents does not provide sufficient elimination of microorganisms from orthopedic articles. This can be obtained by means of the treatment (immersion, wiping) with solutions of bactericidal preparations of various chemical orogin (chloramine, lithium hypochloride, chlorine, sulphochlorantine, hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, nitran). Medical orthopedic articles must be decontaminated before use. In the hospitals, disinfection of orthopedic articles should be performed at least once a day. Immersion of the articles made of porous materials into solutions of disinfectans with surface-active additives or into solutions of surface-active bactericides is a simple, readily available and effective method of treatment. Drawback of this method is that disinfectant solution partly remains in the pores and can be eliminated only by means of drying of the article in thermostate. Orthopedic articles of polyurethane foam can be decontaminated only by use of solutions of hydrogen peroxide and nirtan out of all the tested disinfectants. Medical orthopedic articles made of polymer materials have endured repeated treatment with disinfectant solutions without any change of their physical and mechanical properties. The usability of these articles did not deteriorate.