Assessment of endoscope cleaning and disinfection efficacy, and the impact of endoscope storage on the microbiological safety level

AIMS: The aim of the study was microbiological evaluation of the efficacy of cleaning and disinfection of endoscopes carried out with the use of endoscope washer‐disinfector EndoCleaner and evaluation of the endoscope storage cabinet providing a controlled environment. METHODS AND RESULTS: The efficacy evaluation of endoscope cleaning and disinfection using the endoscope washer‐disinfector EndoClener (AORT) was carried out in accordance with the PN‐EN ISO 15883 standard, and the validity of endoscope storage cabinet (TRIBO LLC) was evaluated in accordance with the PN‐EN 16442 standard. The micro‐organism tested used in the study were as follows: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC® 15442™, Enterococcus faecium ATCC® 12952™, Clostridium sporogenes ATCC® 19404™ (spores), Candida albicans ATCC® 90028™ and Aspergillus brasiliensis DSM® 1988™ (surrogate for Asperigllus niger ATCC® 16404™). It was demonstrated that the endoscope reprocessing carried out in the washer‐disinfector EndoCleaner guaranteed the elimination of the micro‐organism tested, and the tested endoscope storage cabinet met the microbiological criteria defined by the Polish standard PN‐EN 16442 in the scope of tests. CONCLUSION: The obtained results showed that usage of washer‐disinfector EndoCleaner and endoscope storage cabinet ensures the microbiological safety of using endoscopes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: The increase in the frequency of procedures applying endoscopes contributes to the increased risk of transmission of potentially pathogenic micro‐organisms remaining after insufficient cleaning and disinfection of these devices. Research allows assessing the effectiveness of antimicrobial cleaning and disinfection of endoscopes and the safety of storing this equipment in an endoscope cabinet. A particularly innovative aspect is equipping the cabinet with a module generating the phenomenon of radiant catalytic ionization, which is a unique solution on the market. This is one of the very few works involving the assessment of each stage, that is contamination, washing and disinfection, drying and storage of endoscopes.