Effects of metal corrosion in the pump of a dialysis machine on the sterility of the terminal dialysate by spike-and-recovery testing with bacteria

Table 2 Effects of flow stoppage time and the presence of metal corrosion on number of detection times from the metal parts

Metal corrosion	Flow stoppage time (h)	Detected times	Not detected times	p-Value (12 h versus 18 h)
Absent	12	1	11	< 0.01
Absent	18	10	2	< 0.01
Present	12	3	9	< 0.01
Present	18	12	0	< 0.01

Dialysate spiked with P. aeruginosa (10 CFU/mL) was introduced to the experimental circuit (Fig. 1), and stopped flow for indicated times. After the cleaning and disinfection as shown in Fig. 4, the dialysis pump was disassembled, and bacteria on 12 metal parts were released by ultrasonic exposure. Released live bacteria were detected. **p < 0.01 (Holm’s test)

ISSN: 2059-1381