OBJECTIVES: Given the high annual volume of gastrointestinal endoscopies, healthcare facilities face the issue of balancing efficiency and safety. If either fall short, the entire practice’s operations could halt due to either patient backlogs or contaminations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the endoscope reprocessing steps performed and associated times to reprocess gastroscopes.

METHODS: 11 gastrointestinal endoscopies with reusable gastroscopes were observed at a high-volume surgery center in the United States. Observations and the time taken for each part of the endoscope’s use-cycle were recorded. The average time for a full use-cycle was calculated.

RESULTS: The average time required to prepare, reprocesses, transport, and store a reusable gastroscope was 43’46”, which is substantially lower than the 76 minutes shown in literature. One factor that may have influenced the shorter cycle was the number of reprocessing steps the facility regularly skipped or shortened. 5f the observed scope reprocessing cycles omitted manual cleaning with a scope brush to clean the working channel. Additionally, the facility skipped the following ANSI/AAMI ST91 recommended reprocessing steps: 2021 in all cases observed: endoscope wiping after procedure completion, leak testing prior to cleaning, cleaning verification, borescope inspection, cleaning sinks between uses, forced air drying after AER reprocessing, and covering the scopes during transport.

CONCLUSIONS: The endoscopy industry is at a crossroads between efficiency and safety. While having a high procedure volume may allow for more patients to be seen, safety and cleaning steps may be compromised and put individuals at risk. As endoscopy evolves, facilities will need to weigh their options to ensure not only that patients’ needs are met, but they are doing so in a safe manner by either restructuring their endoscope scope processes or shifting to new technologies such as single-use endoscopes.