• T Buckley, S M Dudley, and L G Donowitz.
• University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908.
• Am. J. Crit. Care. 1994 Nov 1; 3 (6): 448-51.

BackgroundRecommendations in the literature conflict on the necessity of disinfecting single-use vials prior to aspiration of fluid. Interventions to disinfect the stopper surface on multiple-dose vials vary considerably.ObjectivesTo determine the necessity of alcohol disinfection of the stopper on single-dose vials and to compare povidone-iodine and alcohol versus alcohol-only disinfection of the stopper prior to each needle penetration on multiple-dose vials.MethodsThe rubber stopper surfaces of 100 single-dose vials were cultured for the presence of bacteria. To determine the efficacy of two procedures for disinfection of multiple-dose vials, 87 stopper surfaces routinely disinfected with both povidone-iodine and alcohol were cultured for bacteria. After a change in practice, 100 multiple-dose vials routinely disinfected with alcohol only were cultured for the presence of bacteria.ResultsOf the cultures done on single-dose vial stoppers, 99% were sterile. A comparison of the two disinfection techniques for multiple-dose vials revealed that 83 (95%) of the 87 vials prepped with both povidone-iodine and alcohol were sterile, compared with all stoppers disinfected with alcohol only.ConclusionsThis study shows the lack of necessity of any disinfection procedure on the rubber stopper of single-dose vials and the efficacy of alcohol only for disinfecting the stopper of multiple-dose vials.

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