Manufacturer Determines Test Suitable for Evaluating Cleanliness of Flexible Endoscopes

At the 2011 Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (SGNA) Convention held in Indianapolis, Olympus America, Inc. presented the results of a study evaluating the effectiveness of a 3-1 test strip for detecting residual organic soils remaining in flexible endoscopes after cleaning.

The purpose of the product ChannelCheck (Healthmark Industries Company, Inc.) is to test for three organic soils commonly found in patient-used endoscopes: blood, protein and carbohydrates. Numerous past studies have demonstrated it is critical in the reprocessing of a reusable medical device to ensure that the instrument has been adequately cleaned prior to high-level disinfection or sterilization.

A total of 79 Olympus endoscopes were sampled using the specified collection procedure during the study. According to the ChannelCheck results, after bedside cleaning but prior to reprocessing 17 endoscopes tested positive for residual protein, eight endoscopes tested positive for residual carbohydrate and 36 tested positive for hemoglobin. Each of these endoscopes was then manually cleaned in strict compliance with manufacturer guidelines and retested using the ChannelCheck test strips. No endoscopes tested positive for protein, carbohydrate, or hemoglobin after manual cleaning had been completed.

This study has shown that ChannelCheck is an effective tool for users to test and verify the efficacy of their cleaning process as recommended by AAMI, AORN, SGNA and other standards bodies. Results demonstrate that ChannelCheck testing can be a valuable part of a total quality improvement program. For more information on the Olympus study, visit: http://www.olympusamerica.com/msg_section/files/ChannelCheckPoster.pdf.