Ambulatory

Infection Control & Infection Prevention

Endoscope Reprocessing Effectiveness: Are Single-Use Sheaths an Option for Reducing Risk? #5013 (1.00 CH)

5013 - Endoscope Reprocessing Effectiveness: Are Single-Use Sheaths an Option for Reducing Risk? #5013 (1.00 CH)

Speaker(s)

• 

  Cori Ofstead, MSPH

  President and CEO
  Ofstead & Associates, Inc.
  Saint Paul, Minnesota
• JE

  John Eiland, MS, RN

  Senior Research Associate
  Saint Paul, MN

Endoscope reprocessing failures are common and recent studies found that endoscopy-associated infections are far more frequent than previously thought, with particularly high infection rates following cystoscopy and bronchoscopy. Experts are calling for a shift from high-level disinfection (HLD) to sterilization because HLD is not sufficient to ensure patient safety. Sterilization is a good option in some settings, but it may not be practical or affordable in others. Decision makers are grappling with other alternatives, including single-use endoscopes and sheaths that may reduce the complexity, time, and cost of reprocessing. The presenters will describe a systematic literature review that evaluated microbial barrier sheaths for cystoscopes, gastrointestinal endoscopes, bronchoscopes, and ear-nose-throat endoscopes. The 22 studies evaluated ease-of-use, image quality, patient tolerability, sheath durability, microbial contamination, infection rates, and operational costs. The presenters will also describe their use of the AORN Research Evidence Appraisal Tool.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe issues that contributed to endoscopy-associated infections among patients undergoing cystoscopy, bronchoscopy, and other endoscopic procedures.
• Become familiar with methods that can be used to evaluate scientific evidence pertaining to new technologies, including single-use, sterile microbial barrier sheaths.