Apósito biológico esterilizado con gas óxido de etileno

objective: to present the result from a preclinical research aimed to verify the sterilizing power of ethylene oxide gas on the porcine skin used as a biological dressing. methods: two groups of 60 samples each of lyophilized porcine skin were contaminated with a strain of positive-coagulase staphylococcus and pseudomona aeruginosa, respectively. the 25 % of samples of each group was sent to microbiology laboratory to verify the effectiveness of contamination method. the remainder 75 % was treated in different periods in a chamber of ethylene oxide gas and later, was sent to the above laboratory to verify the sterility degree. results: it was demonstrated the effectiveness of the ethylene oxide gas to sterilize the porcine skin, which is used as a biological dressing. conclusions: this method is safe, therefore it is appropriate to use in the medical clinic.