JPS5918066B2 - medical equipment storage - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical instrument storage, and more particularly to a medical instrument storage that holds a medium in which mold can grow.

Prior Art Medical equipment products such as arterial blood collection devices, blood bags, liquid medicine cylinders, blood transfusion containers, cases, hypodermic needles, vacuum blood collection tubes, etc. each have a label on their surface displaying their name, product name, number, etc. , are often packaged, stored and transported in units of a certain number of units.

Labels are usually attached with glue or other medium that allows mold to grow, and there is usually air inside the packaging material, and mold (fungi) in this air sticks to the label during storage, transportation, etc. Often grows in adhesives.

In addition, in the case of infusion containers and blood bags, for example, glucose is present in the liquid content, so if this adheres to the outer surface of the container, this becomes a medium in which mold can grow, and the mold multiplies.

Additionally, mold may also grow if water or the like adheres to the surface.

To prevent the growth of mold, each medical device with a label affixed to it is heated (bathtourization), the label is impregnated or painted with a disinfectant, or the label is sterilized. The outer surface of the container is then cleaned.

Problems with the Prior Art However, in the case of hot storage treatment, there is a risk that the medical instruments will become wet with water and that the quality of the medical instruments may deteriorate due to the heat during the treatment.

In addition, sterilizers are not preferable because they directly or indirectly have an adverse effect on medical instruments.

Furthermore, if the outer surface of the container is cleaned after sterilization, there is a risk that the cleaning liquid will contaminate the contents.

■Object of the Invention Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a medical instrument storage body that can easily prevent the growth of mold and thereby solve the conventional problems.

According to the present invention, there is provided a medical instrument that contains water or an aqueous solution, an airtight container that houses the medical instrument, and a container that absorbs an amount of oxygen that is greater than the amount of free oxygen in the container. Provided is a medical instrument storage body comprising an oxygen scavenger that inhibits the growth of mold.

It is preferable to use an oxygen scavenger made of powder of iron or an iron-based compound and a metal chloride.

Medical instruments typically contain water or aqueous solutions, such as blood bags and containers for containing medical solutions.

Moreover, it is preferable that the oxygen absorber is in the form of being housed in a breathable package.

Most commonly, labels are affixed to the outer surface of medical devices.

■ Detailed description of the invention The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

What is shown in Figure 1 is an airtight sealed container 1 for storing blood bags.
1 is shown in an open state.

The container 11 consists of an aluminum bag 12 having an opening 13 for storing at least one bag, and a sheet 14 covering substantially the entire inner surface of the bag 12.

The aluminum bag 12 is suitable as a packaging material for blood bags because it has a high insulation effect on the inside and outside of the bag, that is, there is no invasion of bacteria, etc., and it also has good heat conduction during sterilization.
It has various advantages such as being durable and water resistant.

The aluminum bag 12 referred to herein is not particularly limited, but it is a bag-shaped bag made by laminating plastic films on both sides of aluminum foil.

Making bags from a single sheet in this way is generally practiced, and bags are made by sealing the necessary parts of the sheet.

For this reason, especially when the bag 12 is made using a small number of sheets (in other words, the plastic film on the front surface can be heat-sealed),
For example, it is preferably made of polyethylene, and its surface is preferably the inner surface of the bag 12.

In the example of the present invention, the bag 12 was made using a three-layer sheet of stretched polyester, aluminum foil, and polyethylene.

The sheet 14 is a two-layered body of a water absorbent sheet and a synthetic resin sheet having many pores, and the synthetic resin sheet is the bag 1.
2, and covers substantially the entire area of the inner surface.

The water-absorbing sheet should be Japanese paper, etc., which easily absorbs water vapor (synthetic resin sheets can allow water vapor to pass through, but materials with pores that do not allow water droplets to pass through), such as polyethylene, are suitable. However, the appropriate range of pores is 0.3 to 1
Just a little drunk.

The Japanese paper in this example is about 43S'/m2 (thickness 70A),
Also, polyethylene has a thickness of 20μ and a pore size of 0.3 to 0.
．． A material with a diameter of 5 mm and a pore spacing of about 1.4 nm was used.

In particular, use of a synthetic resin sheet that can be heat-sealed to the plastic film on the inner surface of the bag 12 can contribute to improved workability.

The sheet 14 is bonded to the inner surface of the bag 12 near the opening 130, and the portion of the other sheet 14 that covers the inner surface of the bag 12 is not bonded.

It is preferable to have as few adhesive parts as possible, and it is sufficient if the sheet 14 is adhered to such an extent that it can maintain a state in which substantially the entire inner surface of the bag 12 is covered.

The sheet 14 may be formed into a bag shape that fits inside the bag 12 and adhered at the sealing part 15, but usually, the sheet forming the bag 12 and the sheet 14 are overlapped and adhered at the sealing part 5. and form it into a bag 12.

For example, if the synthetic resin sheet and the plastic film on the inner surface of the bag 12 are made of polyethylene, all of the bonding can be done by heat fusion, which is easy to manufacture.

A blood bag 21 as shown in FIG. 2 is housed in the container 11 configured as described above.

This blood bank 21 is provided with a bag body 22 made of synthetic resin, for example, polyvinyl chloride, a blood collection tube 23 communicating with the inside of this body 22, and discharge ports 24 and 25.

A blood sampling needle 26 is provided at the tip of the blood sampling tube 23.

A label 27 for displaying the product name, the type of blood collected, the date of blood collection, etc. is attached to the surface of the bag body 22 using a medium such as glue on which mold grows.

Such a blood bag 21 is steam sterilized and cooled (usually
The blood collection tubes 23 are tied together to make a compact ball, which is housed in the container 11 in units of, for example, 5 pieces, preferably in a breathable packaging 31 as shown in FIG. An oxygen scavenger 32 capable of absorbing more oxygen than the amount of free oxygen in the tank is contained.

The packaging 31 is made of, for example, perforated polyethylene laminate paper.

When the outer surface of this package 31 is treated to be water repellent, it is possible to prevent the oxygen absorber 32 contained therein from getting wet with water, thereby preventing early deterioration of the oxygen absorber 32.

Examples of oxygen scavengers are listed below.

Metal powder such as iron powder coated with metal halide.

Low content of iron-based compounds such as iron carbide, iron carbonyl, ferrous oxide, ferrous hydroxide, and iron silicon (a combination of one type and a metal halide).

Iron and/or zinc and Na2 SO4・10H20
or a combination with metal halide.

Iron, copper, tin, zinc and/or nickel and Na2
Combination of SO3.7H20 or Na2CO3.10H20 and metal halide.

A combination of a transition metal from period 4 of the periodic table, tin and/or antimony, and water or a metal halide.

A combination of an alkaline earth metal sulfite and a ferrous oxide, a transition metal salt other than ferrous oxide, or an aluminum salt.

A combination of an alkaline earth metal sulfite, a transition metal salt or an aluminum salt, an alkaline compound containing an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal, and an alkaline compound containing nitrogen.

Combinations of alkali metal or ammonium sulfites, bisulfites and/or pyrosulfites with transition metal salts or aluminum salts.

A combination of alkaline earth metal sulfite and ferrous salt compounds and aluminum salts.

Combination of dithionite and water-containing alkaline earth metal hydroxides and carbonates.

Combination of dithionite, activated carbon and water.

Combination of dithionite and a compound with water of crystallization.

Combination of dithionite, alkaline substance and alcohol compound.

As the oxygen scavenger, a combination of iron or an iron-based compound and a metal halide is preferred.

Moisture that evaporates from inside the bag during the above sterilization and subsequent storage is absorbed by the absorbent sheet, passes through the pores of the synthetic resin sheet, and is transferred between the synthetic resin sheet and the inner surface of the bag 12. It accumulates due to surface tension in spaces (about 1 inch of unbonded portion is sufficient) and/or pores.

After the blood bag 21 and the oxygen scavenger are thus stored in the container 11, the container 11 is sealed as described above.

Note that the container 11 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1 (it may be any container that can maintain airtightness).

In addition, the medical equipment that should be stored is not limited to blood bags.
It may be any of a drug solution syringe, an infusion container, a case injection needle, an arterial blood sampling device containing an anticoagulant aqueous solution, a vacuum blood collection tube, etc.

(2) Specific functions and effects of the invention A plurality of storage bodies for medical instruments of the present invention having the above-described configuration are stored and transported as needed.

During this storage, oxygen contained in the air present in the container 11 is absorbed by the oxygen absorber 12, and at this time, for example, iron or an iron-based compound constituting the oxygen absorber is oxidized to an iron (m) compound.

In this way, the growth of mold, which is mostly aerobic bacteria, is inhibited or killed due to the lack of oxygen within the container 11.

Therefore, even if the label is attached with an adhesive such as glue that allows mold to grow, mold will not grow and the medical instruments housed in the container 11 will be kept sanitary.

Examples of this invention will be described below.

Penicillium nigricans (P
enicillium nigricans) (
(hereinafter referred to as Bacterium A), Aspergillus niger (A sp.
ergi 11usniger) (hereinafter referred to as Bacterium B), Aspergillus fumigatus (Aspergillus fumigatus)
A blood bag with a label attached with 106 cells of Cladosporium sp. The growth of mold was observed by intraocular and surface culture.

□In the package containing the oxygen absorber, no growth of any bacteria was observed with the naked eye after being left for 13 weeks.

In addition, if the package does not have an oxygen absorber, bacteria B can be left for 2 weeks, and other bacteria A, C, and D can be left for 3 weeks.
After leaving it for a week, vigorous growth was observed macroscopically.

On the other hand, observations using surface culture showed that packages containing oxygen absorbers showed a decrease in viable bacteria after being left for one week than packages without oxygen absorbers, and that after being left for 4 to 7 weeks, viable bacteria remained. No detection was observed.

Similarly, for Bacteria C, after being left for one week, the package containing an oxygen absorber showed a decrease in viable bacteria compared to the package without an oxygen absorber.
The number of viable bacteria rapidly decreased after being left for 4 weeks, and the number of bacteria decreased to 10 or less after being left for 5 to 11 weeks.

Furthermore, regarding bacteria A and B, the oxygen absorber-containing package showed a decrease in viable bacteria than the oxygen absorber-free package after being left for 2 weeks, and the number of bacteria decreased to 102 or less after being left for 5 weeks.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the airtight container of the medical instrument storage body of the present invention in an open state, and Fig. 2 shows the medical equipment stored in the airtight container shown in Fig. 1. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a blood bag as a container for medical instruments, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the oxygen scavenger used in the medical instrument housing of the present invention housed in an air-permeable package. 11... Airtight airtight container, 21... Blood bag, 31... Packaging, 32... Oxygen absorber.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A medical instrument that contains water or an aqueous solution, an airtight container that houses the medical instrument, and a device that is housed in the container and that contains an amount of oxygen that is greater than the amount of free oxygen in the container. A medical equipment storage body comprising an oxygen scavenger that absorbs oxygen and prevents mold growth. 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen scavenger comprises powder of iron or an iron-based compound and a metal halide. 3 Claim 1 in which the medical device is a blood bag
The storage body according to item 1 or 2. 4. The storage body according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the medical container is a drug solution storage container. 5. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the oxygen absorber is housed in a breathable package. 6. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the medical instrument has a label affixed to its outer surface.