Endoscope reprocessing
The next, brushless step in endoscope reprocessing
In this article, Pentax Medical explains how a new brushless solution could offer an alternative to manual pre-cleaning, while addressing hygiene and sustainability challenges faced in daily clinical practice.
Endoscopy continues to witness a number of important innovations that contribute to even better clinical outcomes. At the same time, there are still significant opportunities for further improving patient safety and infection prevention in the field. Given the constantly changing environment of medical device reprocessing, which is marked by a heightened consciousness of the overall environmental impact of healthcare and endoscopy, coupled with a shortage of hospital staff following COVID-19, the need to enhance the decontamination of endoscopes has become increasingly critical. Reusable and semi-disposable endoscopes
are advanced devices with multiple lumens and narrow channels. They are often used in standard endoscopic procedures, such as routine gastrointestinal examinations or bronchoscopies, where risk of infection is lower and patient throughput is higher. Infection risk is considered lower in these procedures because endoscopes come into contact with intact mucous membranes but do not ordinarily penetrate sterile tissue.1 If the infection risk is lower, it is not inexistant – infections can stem from several sources, from staff clothing to floor and surface cleaning but also from the equipment used during procedures if it is handled inexpertly. The reprocessing of endoscopes is required after
each procedure to ensure the contaminated instruments are safe for reuse.2 A successful endoscope reprocessing consists of four consequential phases: bedside cleaning, manual pre-cleaning at the reprocessing area, cleaning and disinfection, drying and storage3
– which must be performed
in the right order to achieve the highest levels of hygiene. Each phase is composed of numerous complicated and manual steps which must be meticulously performed in line with the manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFU).
Fighting the threat of endoscope contamination During their use, reusable and semi-disposable endoscopes can become heavily contaminated
Due to its patented technology, the AquaTYPHOON disperses millions of water droplets in the endoscope channels through a compressed air flow at up to 200 kilometres per hour. Such high velocity creates a high shear stress which eliminates the residues from the endoscope channels walls. Daniel Vinteler, PlasmaBiotics.
64
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I April 2023
with the patient’s microbial flora and body fluids, and one failed step in reprocessing is enough to compromise hygiene. This makes manual pre- cleaning an essential initial step in reprocessing. Subsequent steps needed to guarantee clean and safe use on patients are highly dependent on a meticulous pre-cleaning. Due to the sophisticated architecture of endoscopes and the manual nature of the pre-cleaning steps, the reprocessing staff needs to have a deep knowledge about the endoscope construction, the channel systems and how to access the different channels. Knowledge about hygiene infection control, process chemicals and reprocessing systems is also required. Such requirements for a manual task give reprocessing staff a major role to play in infection risk mitigation along with more chances to fail. Between brushing and flushing, the pre-cleaning step alone requires an individual to remember more than 120 steps. Research shows that in 45% of cases key reprocessing steps are skipped.4
This is
explained by human factors such as time pressure, number of devices to prepare or lack of ergonomics. Sufficient time is the prerequisite for correct reprocessing of endoscopes, but staff usually experience pressure to work faster when pre-cleaning endoscopes, which also leads to fatigue or discomfort in at least one body part.5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
