The Effect of Sterilization Methods of Endoscopic Instruments on the Body: A Study on Rat Model

Laparoscopy is widely used in many surgical areas for diagnosis and treatment. The need for sterilization of reusable instruments is an important issue. Ensuring patient safety, preventing infection, and protecting the functionality of the instruments are the most important points to be considered. We aimed to investigate two sterilization methods and their effects generated by their distribution into intra-abdominal tissues during insufflation.

21 rats were used in the study. The Control Group (Group 1) received anesthesia for 1 hour; Group 2 (Glutaraldehyde (GA)-Pneumoperitoneum Group) received anesthesia for 1 hour; Group 3 (Ethylene Oxide (EO)-Pneumoperitoneum Group) received anesthesia for 1 hour. After 24 hours, the animals were sacrificed, and the kidneys and omentum of the animals were analyzed in a histopathological manner. Blood samples were analyzed at preoperative 24th hour and at postoperative 24th hour.

There was a statistically significant difference in omentum, endothelium, and glomerular scores between the groups (p < 0.001 for all groups). Endothelial and glomerular scores were different at a statistically significant level in the EO and GA groups compared to the Control Group. The total score was higher at a statistically significant level in the EO and GA groups compared to the Control Group (p < 0.001 for both groups).

It was determined in our study that sterilization methods such as EO and GA cause damage in intra-abdominal tissues. In the light of these results, we consider that the most ideal laparoscopic surgery set is the single-use laparoscopy set. However, this does not seem possible especially in developing countries in practice.