Discussion
The usefulness of LTSF sterilization is recognized
widely in Europe4,5 as a method of low-temperature
sterilization. LTSF sterilization is thought to sterilize
various types of heat-labile medical equipment
effectively. Many sophisticated pieces of medical
equipment, such as flexible endoscopes, are complex,
re-usable instruments that need to be
sterilized before they are re-used. Furthermore,
medical equipment may have many parts that are
made of various materials. Thus, it is necessary to
know how much formaldehyde residue remains on
these devices following LTSF sterilization. At
present, there is little or no information regarding