With their flexibility and complex components, endoscopes present unique cleaning and disinfecting challenges. Endoscope manufacturers, regulatory bodies, and healthcare facilities are increasingly concerned about the spread of communicable diseases, including clinically relevant microorganisms, on reprocessed medical devices. The concern over endoscope reprocessing has been so great that regulatory bodies, such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC), have developed guidelines to prevent the spread of communicable diseases through the use of endoscopes. The FDA is currently working on a guideline.
With patient health in mind, Nelson Laboratories and HealthMark Industries developed an Endoscope Sampling Kit for the random testing of duoendoscopes in compliance with the CDC guidelines. Everything necessary to collect and send a sample from a reprocessed endoscope for testing to determine the presence or absence of objectionable microorganisms will be provided in the kit offered by Healthmark. The sample will be sent by the healthcare facility to Nelson Laboratories for independent testing of the sample for the presence of any microorganisms. If present, the organisms will be identified and quantified.
The kit is a turnkey solution and an important “safety check” for hospitals to make sure their endoscope cleaning and disinfecting processes are working.
