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E N D O S C O P E
R E P R O C E S S I N G
cycles with non-heated OPA.
You may be locked into using a proprietary disinfectant, depending
on the unit you purchase, so check with AER vendors before making
a final decision. Also confirm that the type of endoscopes you use can
be disinfected in the reprocessors you're considering. The AER manufacturer is responsible for providing this information, but it doesn't
hurt to check with scope manufacturers to ensure an AER's detergents and disinfectants are compatible with their products.
Finally, look for machines with single-cycle disinfectant capabilities.
That's a big key in the future of automated endoscope reprocessing, and
the direction it's moving toward to ensure infectious material doesn't
accumulate in reusable disinfectants. Of course, expect units featuring
single-cycle disinfectants to be a bit pricier. In my mind, however, the
increased safety and peace of mind they afford are worth the added
expense.
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Cycle time
Many factors impact the amount of time it takes an AER to
reprocess endoscopes, including:
• Leak testing. There are no shortcuts to proper leak testing. Your
techs must carefully examine each scope, a process made easier with
the automated testing available on newer machines. Automated tests
are more sophisticated than manual inspections and can find leaks
that reprocessing techs may miss. Automatic leak testing essentially
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2012
