英文摘要 |
With the current advancements in healthcare technology, many types of invasive devices and procedures have become ubiquitous in medical treatments. However, this has led to a multitude of medical care problems related to infections. Since the 1970s, there have been sporadic reports of nosocomial infections related to endoscopic procedures. The reasons for endoscopy-related infections include inadequate reprocessing, damage, or inappropriate storage of endoscopes and contaminated water, and contaminated endoscope washer-disinfectors. This article refers to endoscope sterilization guidelines, including those set forth by the Digestive Endoscopy Society of Taiwan, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and World Health Organization (WHO). Consequently, the topics dealt with in the article are as follows: reprocessing workflow, design and construction of endoscopy suites, endoscope reprocessing, enzymatic detergent, endoscope accessories reprocessing, special endoscope reprocessing, delayed reprocessing, staff education, environmental cleaning, monitoring quality of flexible endoscope disinfection by microbiologic surveillance cultures, documentation, and outbreak management. Endoscopic evaluation plays an indispensable role in preventing, diagnosing, and curing GI disease. Disposable use of endoscope accessories is an important area for future development. However, considering the problems regarding reprocessing and crosscontamination, it is perhaps more important to formulate a better, more standardized operation process. |