Survey of gastrointestinal endoscope disinfection and accessory reprocessing practices in the Asia-Pacific region

Concern has been raised about the possibility of transmission of infection by gastrointestinal endoscope. This vexation may be related to reliability of the disinfecting techniques or to the compliance with the guidelines laid down for disinfection. There have been very few recent surveys examining the disinfection practices for gastrointestinal endoscopes and their accessories. This survey was undertaken to understand such practices in the Asia-Pacific region. A questionnaire was sent by post or electronic mail to 356 randomly selected endoscopy centres in the Asia-Pacific region. Responses were received from 38.7% of the centres. The survey showed that there were significant aberrations in the application of disinfection procedures. One-third of the respondents did not practise disinfection at the start of the day's session, 2.9% of the centres were not using a high-level disinfectant and 34.7% of the centres used a soak time in 2% glutaraldehyde of less than 10 min. At 40% of the centres, at the end of the day's session, forced air or alcohol was not used to dry the endoscopes. Reuse of accessories meant for single use was widely practised. (C) 2000 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd.