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here aren't many versions available in the U.S. right now, but
single-use, disposable cystoscopes and ureteroscopes are
beginning to make an impact in outpatient surgery.
You'll need to perform your own cost-benefit analysis to determine
if one-and-done urology scopes are right for your facility. Consider
this when you're doing the math, however: Single-use scopes don't
need to be repaired, maintained or reprocessed, and by their very
nature, it's impossible for their performance to degrade over time.
And from an infection control perspective, you completely eliminate
the risk of using a reprocessed scope you might think is sterile or dis-
infected, but actually isn't. Another factor to consider in a cost-benefit
analysis: Because reprocessing is entirely removed from the equation,
the ease of simply opening a new package for each procedure can
make the exam process more efficient and presents the possibility
that you can schedule more cases on a given day.
The American Urological Association's Journal of Urology pub-
lished a Mayo Clinic study in March 2017, "The Economic
Implications of a Reusable Flexible Digital Ureteroscope: A Cost-
Benefit Analysis" (osmag.net/FqvCC3), that compared real-world
use of single-use and reusable flexible ureteroscopes over a 12-
month trial. The authors concluded that "a disposable ureteroscope
may be cost beneficial at centers with a lower case volume per year.
However, institutions with a high volume of cases may find reusable
ureteroscopes cost beneficial."
A cost-benefit analysis published in May 2018 by the BJU
International journal, "Single-use disposable digital flexible uretero-
scopes: an ex vivo assessment and cost analysis" (osmag.net/5YQzzH),
Single-Use Urology Scopes
Are one-and-done cystoscopes and ureteroscopes right for you?
Thinking of Buying …
Joe Paone | Senior Associate Editor
