Anwardeen Ziaudeen SZ, Yeo CS, Yeo DXW. Validity of the efficacy of the spray flushing cleaning method in flexible endoscope reprocessing. World J Gastroenterol 2025; 31(11): 101743 [PMID: 40124263 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i11.101743]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Danson Xue Wei Yeo, MBBS, MRCS, MMed (Surgery), FRCS, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore 308433, Singapore. danson_xw_yeo@ttsh.com.sg
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Sameera Zeehan Anwardeen Ziaudeen, Charleen Shanwen Yeo, Danson Xue Wei Yeo, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore 308433, Singapore
Author contributions: Anwardeen Ziaudeen SZ drafted the manuscript; Yeo CS and Yeo DXW edited and revised the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Danson Xue Wei Yeo, MBBS, MRCS, MMed (Surgery), FRCS, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore 308433, Singapore. danson_xw_yeo@ttsh.com.sg
Received: September 25, 2024 Revised: February 5, 2025 Accepted: February 17, 2025 Published online: March 21, 2025 Processing time: 169 Days and 2.6 Hours
Abstract
The advancement in endoscopic technology and techniques has increased its use in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Reprocessing of reusable endoscopes remains a challenge. Inadequate reprocessing leads to bacterial contamination of the endoscope, a significant cause of endoscope-related infections. To thoroughly address the complexities of cleaning a flexible endoscope, various cleaning methods have been devised and tested across different studies. This letter evaluates one such method, spray flushing for flexible gastroscopes, developed and tested in a randomized controlled trial by Du et al. Based on the post-processing test results for this method, Du et al conclude that there is improved cleaning efficacy and reduced damage compared to manual brush cleaning. The validity and reliability of the results could be further enhanced by carefully considering the study design and a few underlying concepts that contribute to the reprocessing quality of different types of endoscopes.
Core Tip: The current method of cleaning endoscopes with manual brushing damages the scope channel over time. Du et al devised and tested the efficacy of a spray flushing technique in reprocessing flexible gastroscopes in a randomized controlled trial. This technique, which removes debris to a greater extent and causes less damage to the gastroscope, could significantly improve endoscope reprocessing. The validity and reliability of this study depend on several additional factors, such as sampling and blinding methods, the pressure and content of spraying, and the length and type of the endoscope. Understanding these factors is crucial for successfully implementing the spray flushing method in endoscope reprocessing practices.
