Quantitative Evaluation of Medical Waste and Their Sterilization Equipment in Hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences in 1394

The efficient hospital waste management requires a detailed  knowledge of  the quantity and type of medical centers generated waste. The most important factor in planning and management of hospital waste is the estimation of the generated waste. It is worth mentioning here that modern methods of waste disposal are necessary, due to the harmful potential of medical waste. A total of 62 hospital under the supervision of Iran University of Medical Science were studied. The data were obtained from waste self-reporting form, the results of biological and chemical tests, and calibration result of medical waste sterilization equipment. It should be noted that the hospitals were divided into three groups of state (H1), private(H2), and the other hospitals (H3) to facilitate the process of study. Thereafter, the obtained data were analyzed in Excel 2013. waste generation rate (kg/bed. Day) is 4.09, 4.12, and 4.9, in state, private, and the other hospitals, respectively.  Based on the results, all hospitals except the four  psychiatry hospitals were equipped with the medical waste sterilization equipment (e.g., autoclave, hydroclave, chemiclave, and dry heat). In addition, all H1, H3, and 98% of  H2  used biological indicators. Furthermore , all H2, H3 and 91.6% of  H1, used chemical indicators. Biological supervision of the hospitals showed the positive and desired results with indicating no microbial growth in 76.4%, 86.4%, and 56.2% of H1, H2, and H3, respectively. According to the results of the research and other similar studies, the process of waste generation and separation, as well as the performance of the waste sterilization equipment need further optimization.