ECRI issues reprocessing guidance for duodenoscopes

The ECRI Institute today issued guidance on reprocessing reusable duodenoscopes to reduce the risk of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections. “As this hazard has gained national attention, an ECRI Institute team of physicians, clinical specialists, infection control practitioners, biomedical engineers and others have intensively researched and reviewed the best approaches to address this problem,” the report states, noting that “no single solution will work for all health care organizations.” FDA last month issued safety recommendations to prevent possible microbial infections from reprocessed reusable duodenoscopes – flexible, lighted tubes that are threaded through the mouth into the small intestine to drain fluids from blocked pancreatic and biliary ducts. According to the advisory, the agency has received in the past two years 75 reports involving possible microbial transmission from reprocessed duodenoscopes, including multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.