Clean and Sterile Condition of Used Syringe Balls for Orthopedic Surgery in the East of Thailand

Abstract

Introduction Bulb syringe is a common tool in orthopedic surgery especially for the practices
outside of Bangkok, Thailand. Some surgeons hesitate to use bulb syringes due to concerns
over their sterility.
Purpose To identify the clean and the sterile conditions of bulb syringes.
Methods The authors sampled 20% of routinely used orthopedic bulb syringes from all publicorthopedic
operable hospitals in the East of Thailand. These samples were dissected in sterile
condition. The cleanliness was determined by their gross appearance inside of the ball and
the sterility by swab culture their inner surface.
Results Fifty-two samples from 9 hospitals were examined. There were some clear fluid inside
of most of the bulb syringes and a contamination stain was observed in some pieces, one of
which looked like an old blood clot. However, the results of aerobic bacterial cultures were
negative from all specimens.
Conclusion The bulb syringes are not able to achieve 100% cleanliness. Surgeons must be
careful in using the bulb syringe in operations.