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. 2021 Jan 27;3(2):100123.
doi: 10.1016/j.infpip.2021.100123. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Infection prevention in endoscopy practice: comparative evaluation of re-usable vs single-use endoscopic valves

L Pasquale  1 , A Maurano  2 , G Cengia  3 , P Da Massa Carrara  4 , B Germanà  5 , M G Graziani  6 , G Manes  7 , A Pisani  8 , M Golia  9 , E Marciano  10 , L Rodella  11 , L Schiffino  12 , C Gandolfo  13 , C Terrosi  14 , M G Cusi  13   14
Affiliations

Infection prevention in endoscopy practice: comparative evaluation of re-usable vs single-use endoscopic valves

L Pasquale et al. Infect Prev Pract. .

Abstract

Re-usable air/water and suction valves used in endoscopes often demonstrate risk of infection. To the authors' knowledge, the safety and efficacy of re-usable and single-use valves have not been compared to date. As such, a laboratory investigation was undertaken to compare the safety and efficacy of re-usable and single-use valves at 11 Italian endoscopy sites. Safety was evaluated by analysing the rinse liquid of reprocessed re-usable valves ready for use, and efficacy was assessed based on the completion of endoscopic procedures without valve malfunction. This study found significantly lower contamination of single-use valves compared with re-usable valves (0 vs 29.1%, respectively; P=0.007) and similar efficacy (97.6 vs 98.8%, respectively; P=ns). Microbiological analysis of the rinse liquid of reprocessed re-usable valves identified various surviving micro-organisms and highlighted their potential pathogenicity. Such data suggest that sterile single-use valves may be safer than re-usable valves, and have comparable performance.

Keywords: Efficacy; Endoscopy; Infection; Re-usable valves; Safety; Single-use valves.

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