Good morning,

I am from India and down here people use dry formaldehyde for sterilizing laparoscopic instruments and other instruments. In this method, items are kept inside an acrylic chamber and then a few tablets of formaldehyde is tied in a gauze piece a few drops of water is added and then kept inside the acrylic chamber. Items are kept for 12 hrs for attaining sterility. There is no monitoring done . I know that dry formaldehyde is not a sterilization method, but wanted to find some site or write ups stating this as not a sterilization practise and to be discontinued.
Also please suggest some alternative.

Regards,
Santosh Menon

Dear,

The only publication on this specific subject, I know, is: "Formaldehyde vapour cabinets". It appeared in Journal of Hospital Infection (1991, 19, 67-70), letters to the editor.
The authors, Cumberland and Botting, conclude:
"Therefore, use of dry formaldehyde vapour cabinets can be justified no longer."

Questions Q00138, Q00166 and others, related to low temperature sterilization, can give you more detailed information on this topic.
What are the alternatives? In the first place avoid the problem by buying steam sterilizable instruments. This advice of course won't solve your problem today.
What you can do with heat sensitive instruments? Use gasplasma -, ethylene oxide - or low temperature formaldehyde steam sterilization (take the limitations of each method into account!).
Or if this offers you no immediate solution - but I have to say that I really don't like to write this down, because in Europe all hospitals are leaving this procedure because of the many disadvantages - you can immerse the instruments in glutaraldehyde, ortho phtalaldehyde (see the ASP website) or eventually peracetic acid.

Good luck,
Wim Renders