1. Clean correctly
High-level disinfection
cannot not be done suc-
cessfully if cleaning isn't
done properly, so train-
ing on proper endo-
scope cleaning prac-
tices needs to be thor-
ough and followed by
constant oversight and
regular non-punitive
competency training.
"Some scope reproces-
sors are trained in an hour," says Dr. Petersen. "It's not feasible to
learn the process in that amount of time."
Frank Myers, MA, CIC, FAPIC, assistant director of infection preven-
tion and clinical epidemiology at University of San Diego, Calif., sug-
gests making sure your staff and reprocessing techs:
• wipe down the entire exterior of scopes at the bedside;
• transfer scopes from bedside to the reprocessing room in a solid
container;
• brush interior lumens enough times;
• visually inspect the entire brush when it's withdrawn to confirm
that it's clean;
• work under adequate light to do the inspections; and
• have adequate time to perform each cleaning step.
"You hear stories about time constraints that are unbelievable, that
simply are impossible to maintain," says Dr. Petersen. "Well-trained
reprocessing techs can do a good job only if they're also given ade-
quate time to do the job right."
8 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9
• CHANNEL SURFING Are your reprocessing techs repeatedly brushing an endo-
scope's interior lumens? "One or two quick passes through a scope ... isn't
enough to ensure the channels are clean," says an infection preventionist.
Dartmouth–Hitchcock
Medical
Center
