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Biological contaminants identified from laryngeal mask airways

Department of Physics, UMIST, Manchester M60 1QD

Ten laryngeal mask airways (LMA), reused between 10 and 40 times, were collected from two UK NHS hospitals. All had been cleaned, autoclaved, inspected and repackaged using routine procedures recommended by the manufacturer, and were ready for reuse. These devices were collected, unpacked and subject to the biochemical analysis of erythrosine B staining on the outer surface areas of samples cut from the middle of the tube, the front middle and tip of the cuff. Parallel physical analysis using infrared (IR) spectroscopy was performed on sample cuts from the same areas as for the staining. Both surface infrared spectroscopy and biochemical assay revealed strong deposition of protein-related biological debris on almost all LMAs, with cuffs being contaminated more intensively than tubes. The results reveal that routine hospital LMA cleaning and sterilisation, coupled with visual inspection, are inadequate for identifying and removing protein related biological debris on reused LMAs. In light of the concern of possible cross-contamination, single-use LMAs should be encouraged.

Key Words: Prion protein • blood protein • laryngeal mask airways (LMA) • hospital infection control

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