Borescope examination and microbial culture findings in endoscopes

Editor's Note

In this study, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Mercy Hospital, find that routinely doing borescope examinations and microbial culturing during endoscope reprocessing is a highly effective way to identify endoscopes with damage, abnormalities, and microorganisms of concern.

A total of 42 endoscopes (18 GI, 10 urologic, 14 bronch) were cultured, and 36 endoscopes (13 GI, 11 urologic, 12 bronch) had borescope examinations.

Cultures resulted in microbial growth in 22% of GI endoscopes, 30% of urologic endoscopes, and 28% of bronchoscopes. Only gram-positive colonies were indentified.

Borescope examinations found multiple abnormalities and damage, including channel shredding, filamentous debris, water retention, discoloration, dents, and red debris in the distal end of bronchoscopes.

The red debris were caused by polystyrene tip protectors and deemed to be a patient safety risk. Use of these tip protectors was discontinued based on this study’s findings.