Moisture in rigid containers

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

I am preparing for my CNOR exam on Tuesday (cross your fingers, y'all!) and found an interesting piece of information when reading Berry and Kohn's 10th edition:

"Condensate in the bottom of the closed container is considered sterile because it is not permeable to the capillary action associated with other packaging methods." page 304

So now I am confused. I was always taught to run my hand along the bottom of the rigid container to ensure that no moisture was present, because if it was present, it would then be considered contaminated. Can anyone help me out here?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I would defer to AORN's standards on this one (don't have a copy handy to see what that is though). Perhaps they are thinking that since the container is impermeable that the water must have been on the inside prior to sterilization and is therefore sterile itself?

[PetiteOpRN]

Our caskets have filters, so they are not entirely impermeable.

The autoclave settings are different for trays than liquids. Perhaps what would suffice for one would not sterilize the other.

I would be more worried about the offending wet tray being dirty (ie not fully cleaned and dried before going into the tray).

[TammyCNOR]

We use caskets and have documentation from the manufacturer that liquid inside a sterilized casket is in fact sterile. They do not have filters to change. It was necessary to have this paperwork since it goes against the whole "wet pack" mentality.

[DNRme]

If your caskets do not have filters, how does the steam penetrate? I have never seen any without filters. If there is moisture in a casket with filters, how do we know it did not happen after sterilization... spills or the like? I would always go under the assumption it is contaminated. You will always be safe.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

DNRme-the rationale was that the filters have little holes in them that close during the drying phase of sterilization, which is why we always look at the filters for holes prior to the basket being placed on the sterile back table.

[Argo]

I'm pretty sure the caskets that are made without filters Are the ones with the large rubber Come way Valves. They were designed for flash sterilization and while being used for flashing in emergency cases the moisture inside would be sterile but if I remember there is a much shorter shelf life on these trays that average containers done in prevac or gravity cycles.