that current cleaning and HLD
processes with proper adherence
to instructions for use (IFUs) will
eliminate traces of the coronavirus
in scopes.
You might have expected the
spread of the coronavirus to require
altering your scope cleaning and
HLD protocols in some way.
Professional societies have recom-
mended some minor changes (see
"Proper Endoscope Care During
the Pandemic" on p. 55), but for the
most part, COVID-19 simply serves
as a very loud wakeup call for you
to revisit proper manual cleaning
and HLD techniques, and reeducate your reprocess-
ing techs on the importance of following the multiple
steps involved in the processes.
With that in mind, make sure you have, and that
your staff fully understands, the specific IFUs for
each type of scope in your fleet. Are your IFUs up
to date? Are all of the cleaning and care steps
being followed?
Dr. Lim suggests checking in
with your scope vendor, if you
haven't already, to find out if the
IFUs for your fleet of scopes have
been updated since the COVID-19
outbreak. His vendor reported that
COVID-19 doesn't require any
changes to its scopes' cleaning reg-
imen. "I talked to them directly
about it," says Lim. "Their stance is,
as long as you follow what you're
supposed to do, there should be no
problem. What they publicly say,
and what their data says, is that as
long as you're cleaning scopes the
way they tell you to do it, there's
no risk of transmission."
None of Dr. Lim's patients have
turned up positive or transmitted
the virus while in his care. "But
we're currently performing proce-
dures only on COVID-negative
patients. At this point, I would be
really reluctant to accept a
COVID-positive patient for an
elective endoscopy."
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Penn
State
Milton
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Hershey
Medical
Center
