Resources

Continuing Education – Endoscope Drying (1 CE Credit)

The goal of this program is to understand…

•  WHY we need to dry our scopes
• HOW we can accomplish this
• WHAT is out there to automate the process.

The program is a 1 hour presentation either in person or through a webinar.

Research and Articles

The Dri-Scope Aid® team has done some research for you. The research below not only focuses on WHY you should be drying, but HOW you can accomplish this important step in your reprocessing cycle.

15-Minute Forced-Air Drying Removes Simethicone Droplets in Endoscope Working Channels

Results: After 10 minutes of automated drying, some rare fluid retention persisted (see table). After 15 minutes of automated drying, no visible fluid droplets remained for any of the three concentrations of Simethicone.

Monique Barakat, MD Stanford GI/Peds GI EXTENDED AUTOMATED DRYING PREVENTS SIMETHICONE-ASSOCIATED MOISTURE RETENTION IN COLONOSCOPES

Fluid retention in endoscopes: A real-world study on drying effectiveness

Results: Researchers evaluated drying during encounters with 22 gastroscopes and 20 colonoscopes. After default AER alcohol and air purge cycles, 100% (42/42) of endoscopes were still wet. Substantial fluid emerged from distal ends during the first 15 seconds of the FADS cycle, and droplets also emerged from air/water and suction connectors. Following FADS cycle completion, 100% (42/42) were dry, with no retained fluid detected by any of the assessment methods.
Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH Krystina M. Hopkins, MPH Aaron L. Preston, RN, BSN, CIC Abigail G. Smart, MPH Larry A. Lamb, AGTS Kari L. Love, RN, MS, CIC, FAPIC

Open Access Published: February 24, 2024

Alcohol flush does not aid in endoscope channel drying but may serve as an adjunctive microbiocidal measure: A new take on an old assumption

Results: Alcohol flush (70%-30%) prevented outgrowth with little to no recovery of P. aeruginosa during ambient storage. 70% alcohol increased channel drying time by 1.5 or 3-fold compared to 50% alcohol or water, respectively. Forced air drying of non-alcohol flushed channels greatly reduced the initial contamination level and prevented outgrowth. Incomplete drying of contaminated channels was akin to no application of forced air. Applying forced air for more time than necessary to remove residual liquid did not completely eliminate the low level recovery of P. aeruginosa.
Michelle Nerandzic, BS Kathleen Antloga, MS Nancy Robinson, PhD

Open Access Published: September 18, 2022

Endoscope reprocessing: Comparison of drying effectiveness and microbial levels with an automated drying and storage cabinet with forced filtered air and a standard storage cabinet.

Results: Using the automated drying and storage cabinet, internal channels were dry at 1 hour and external surfaces at 3 hours in all endoscopes. With the standard storage cabinet, there was residual internal fluid at 24 hours, whereas external surfaces were dry at 24 hours. For bronchoscopes, colonoscopes, and duodenoscopes, the standard cabinet allowed for an average rate of colony forming unit growth of 8.1 × 106 per hour, 8.3 × 106 per hour, and 7.0 × 107 per hour, respectively; the automated cabinet resulted in colony forming unit growth at an average rate of -28.4 per hour (P = .02), -38.5 per hour (P = .01), and -200.2 per hour (P = .02), respectively.

Perumpail RB¹, Marya NB¹, McGinty BL², Muthusamy VR³ David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA  Department of Gastroenterology Services, Northside Hospital, Atlanta GA

Am J Infect Control. 2019 Apr 6. pii: S0196-6553(19)30104-X. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.02.016

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