Hazards with disinfecting agents in renal units!

As already described in the April 1991 issue of EDTNA/ERCA Journal (Volume XVII, No. 2), the specific characteristics of various disinfecting agents delineate their respective application areas. Obviously, in a renal unit one needs a large range of disinfecting agents as they are being used for cleaning and disinfection of: water treatment devices; water tanks and distribution systems; single patient units; patient vascular access sites; dialysis connection procedure; dialyser reuse; instruments; floors, etc.... We have been taught never to mix different disinfecting agents as this might reduce their efficiency. However, it had never been hitherto reported that this might be dangerous or even cause an explosion! In this paper, we describe in detail how we were confronted with such an explosion. We further report that similar hazards occurred in other units and present an overview of possible hazards with the most common disinfecting agents. Finally, we emphasize some preventive guidelines to be put forth in renal units.