WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF WRAPPING PAPER OR STERILIZATION POUCH AND/OR REEL OVER GREEN LINEN USED BY THE HOSPITAL FOR SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS.

MADHAV PAREKH
PHARMACONCEPT

Dear Madhav Parekn,
Green linen relies on a tortuous path to keep bacteria out of the package. This means that the holes in the green linen are large enough to allow bacteria through, but the bacteria must turn several corners to make it to the inside of the package. This is fine, until someone handles the package in such a way that forces air in or out of the package, which blows the microbes through the packaging. Just picking the package up can be enough to blow bacteria into a package.
When judged based on keeping microbes out of the package, green linen is the lowest quality wrapping material of all the materials that are considered an acceptable surgical wrapping material.
Pouch or reel material, with paper on one side and see-through plastic on the other, gives an immediate advantage that everyone who handles the package can see the contents. If someone mislabels "Screws" as "Washers", the end-user knows immediately that the label is wrong - they can see the item. Most hospitals I have seen that used both green linen and pouch or reel material would pick a one week or one month expiration date for the items wrapped in green linen, and 6 month or one year expiration date for peel pack items. This is an indication of the relative barrier qualities of these two types of wrapping materials.
Best regards, Pete Bobb

Dear,
I refer you to the answers on questions 84 and 48.
Linen doesn't meet the requirements of EN 868 for packaging materials (wrapping paper, sterilization pouches and reels do) and it therefor can't be used in the EEC to wrap instruments.
On the website of our industrial partner MÖLNLYCKE you also can find useful information about this subject under Klinidrape.
Kind regards,
Wim Renders