to add water.
After scopes have been treated at the bedside, place them in a
cinch bag or closed container to make sure they don't get damaged
during transport to the reprocessing area. Closed containers or
bags also protect staff from exposure to the dirty instruments.
Once the scopes arrive in the dirty side of the decontamination
room, they're placed in a sink, where the scope and channels are man-
ually brushed, washed and rinsed again. Next, the scope is pressure-
tested for leaks. At this point, the scopes are ready to be put into an
automatic endoscopic reprocesser (AER) for high-level disinfecting.
There are numerous manufacturers of AERs and several options of
disinfectants they use. Our facility's AER uses an environmentally
friendly buffered peracetic acid solution, a combination of vinegar
and hydrogen peroxide. In my opinion, it's a better option than acti-
vated glutaraldehyde, a particularly noxious solution used in many
AERs that emits fumes requiring stringent venting requirements due
to employee exposure concerns.
Our AERs are outfitted with radio-frequency identification
(RFID) scanning technology, which allows us to know who
cleaned specific scopes, when the cleaning was done and which
patient the scopes were used on. Some models track that automati-
cally, while others require you to fill the information in on a log.
Either system works well. The machine prints out a form with a
unique RFID number on it, and we place a patient sticker on the
printout.
After scopes are removed from the AER, move them to the clean
side of the reprocessing area where they should be flushed with 70%
isopropyl alcohol and purged with air. Some AER's perform this step
automatically, but it's still a good idea to perform a manual alcohol
push. This helps to ensure scopes will be completely dry when they
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