es at Rockford (Ill.) Gastroenterology Associates.
• Inadequate cleaning. Did you clean all the channels?
• Inappropriate/ineffective disinfection. This involves time exposure, per-
fusing all channels, test concentration, ineffective disinfectant and
inappropriate disinfectant.
• Failure to follow recommended disinfection practices. A tap water rinse,
for example.
• Flaws and complexity in design of endoscopes or AERs. Several manufac-
turers make automated endoscope reprocessors that high-level disin-
fect at the push of a button. By connecting a few fittings to the
scopes, you've got efficient, thorough channel flushing and continu-
ous leak testing, says Karen Swanson, LPN, CSPM, CFER, the sterile
processing manager at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in
Hartford, Conn. This
equipment also serves
as a safeguard against
reprocessing errors
and the use of dam-
aged scopes, as it will
stop its cycle and
notify the user if it
detects a flaw in the
process or the scope.
Some AERs even
provide a cleaning
cycle that can replace
the need for manual
brushing. Other
options, such as an
alcohol flush at the
1 0 4
O U T P A T 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 | N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
