Evaluation of a new disinfectant for dialyzer reuse

Glutaraldehyde has been proposed to be as effective as formaldehyde as a disinfectant for reprocessing capillary hemodialyzers. Formaldehyde has become the standard to which all disinfectants are compared. The two products are compared for microbiological efficacy, reuse, membrane integrity, biocompatibility, performance, residual binding and ease of removal, environmental hazards, and immunogenicity. Glutaraldehyde (0.8%) is as effective as 4% formaldehyde in its microbiocidal effect. The disinfectants are comparable except in the following areas: the use of glutaraldehyde leads to lower reuse rates than formaldehyde, significantly less glutaraldehyde than formaldehyde remains in the dialyzer following standard predialysis rinse procedures, and less glutaraldehyde than formaldehyde is found in environmental air.