APIC AND SHEA STATEMENT ON INFECTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH DUODENOSCOPE PROCEDURES: Washington, February 24, 2015 – In light of recent reports of infections with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a highly resistant form of bacteria, linked to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) issued the following statement.
ERCP PROCEDURES AND DUODENOSCOPES: INFECTION RISKS AND CONSIDERATIONS: Recent reports of infections with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a highly resistant form of bacteria, linked to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are working together to explore optimal protocols for duodenoscope reprocessing (cleaning and disinfecting before reusing on other patients).
ARE YOUR ENDOSCOPES CLEAN ENOUGH?: Several of the biggest medical malpractice headlines in recent years have involved the improper reprocessing of flexible endoscopes. These 4 pointers can help you manage your reprocessing staff to ensure they're delivering the cleanest possible scopes to your endo cases.
NEW ENDOSCOPY SAFETY GUIDELINES: The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy has issued new, endoscopy-specific guidelines to establish accepted practices at GI facilities.
CDC CONFIRMS SUPERBUG TRANSMISSION VIA ENDOSCOPY: Manual cleaning and high-level disinfection in an automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) may not reliably prevent transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria by endoscopes used in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).
ENDOSCOPES STILL DIRTY AFTER MANUAL CLEANING: In a study that measured the cleanliness of endoscopes used at 5 hospitals across the United States, 3 of 20 flexible gastrointestinal endoscopes used for screening were found to harbor unacceptable levels of bacteria.
6 WAYS ADMINISTRATORS CAN ENSURE PROPERLY REPROCESSED ENDOSCOPES – EVERY TIME: Processing endoscopic equipment is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to infection control. A recent study presented at the 40th Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology found that approximately 15 percent of endoscopes were above the 200 relative light unit ATP threshold.
