Flexible Endoscope Manufacturer Determines Test Suitable for Evaluating Cleanliness of Flexible Endoscopes

FRASER, Mich., June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — At the 2011 Society
of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (SGNA) Convention held in
Indianapolis, IN, Olympus America, Inc. (Allentown, PA) 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., Fraser, Michigan) 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, 8 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 please go to
http://www.olympusamerica.com/msg_section/fi

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