tainers. When staff finish precleaning a scope at the bedside, they'll
place it into a rigid container and jot down the time on the lid so
reprocessing techs can tell with a quick glance when they need to
begin treating the scope.
Hung with care
After techs leak test, manually clean and disinfect endoscopes, they
must ensure the working channels are completely dry before they hang
the scopes vertically in storage cabinets. You can use an endoscope
channel drying device to speed the process. The devices feature small
control units that you can wall-mount or hang on an IV pole next to
brackets that support 2 endoscopes. Disposable tubing and port con-
nectors connect the endoscopes to the control device, which send
HEPA-filtered air through the working channels, drying the interiors of
the scopes in about 10 minutes.
Your choices in endoscope storage cabinets range from basic to
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 2 1
You're supposed to reprocess flexible endoscopes that have been
stored for more than 7 days. The 7-Day Indicator
Hangtime Label from Healthmark Industries counts
down the days for you, displaying a read-
out of how long a scope has been
hanging in storage. To activate the
indicator, press the blister at the
base of the strip. A safe dye
migrates along a 7-day dis-
play run-out window, which
shows elapsed time.
7-DAY COUNTDOWN
How Long Have Your Scopes Been Hanging?
