Zhao C, Qi LH, Li LS, Wang YY, Liang T, Chai NL. Using vaporized hydrogen peroxide for anhydrous disinfection of gastrointestinal endoscopes. World J Gastroenterol 2025; 31(14): 103921 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i14.103921]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ning-Li Chai, MD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China. chainingli@vip.163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Basic Study
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/
Can Zhao, Chinese PLA Medical School, Beijing 100853, China
Can Zhao, Long-Song Li, Ying-Ying Wang, Ning-Li Chai, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
Li-Hong Qi, Ting Liang, Institute of NBC Defence PLA Army, Beijing 102205, China
Co-corresponding authors: Ting Liang and Ning-Li Chai.
Author contributions: Chai NL and Zhao C designed the study; Zhao C and Qi LH conducted the research; Liang T provided the experimental equipment and location; Wang Y offered software and hardware support; Zhao C analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Chai N and Li LS jointly reviewed the paper; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript. Chai NL and Liang T are co-corresponding authors. Chai NL applied for and obtained the funding for this research project. Liang T, an outstanding expert in the field of disinfection, provided reliable technical support for this study. The collaboration between Chai NL and Liang T is crucial for the publication of this manuscript and the ongoing progress of the project.
Supported by the Joint Logistics Support Force Comprehensive Equipment Research Project, No. LB2023B010100-09.
Institutional review board statement: This study did not involve human subjects, hence no ethical approval was obtained.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All original data from the experiments can be obtained by contacting the authors at chainingli@vip.163.com.
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: Ning-Li Chai, MD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China. chainingli@vip.163.com
Received: December 5, 2024 Revised: February 22, 2025 Accepted: March 17, 2025 Published online: April 14, 2025 Processing time: 127 Days and 21 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Current disinfection methods for gastrointestinal endoscopes consume a significant amount of water resources and produce a large volume of waste.
AIM
To achieve the objectives of efficiency, speed, and cost-effectiveness, this study utilized vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) generated from sodium percarbonate granules to conduct an anhydrous disinfection test on gastrointestinal endoscopes.
METHODS
The experimental device rapidly converts sodium percarbonate granules into VHP, and performs disinfection experiments on gastrointestinal endoscope models, disposable endoscopes, and various types of reusable gastrointestinal endoscopes. Variables such as the intraluminal flow rate (FR), relative humidity (RH), exposure dosage, and organic burden are used to explore the factors influencing the disinfection of long and narrow lumens with VHP.
RESULTS
The device generates a certain concentration of VHP that can achieve high-level disinfection of endoscope models within 30 minutes. RH, exposure dosage, and organic burden significantly affect the disinfection efficacy of VHP, whereas the intraluminal FR does not significantly impact disinfection efficacy. All ten artificially contaminated disposable endoscopes achieved satisfactory disinfection results. Furthermore, when this device was used to treat various types of reusable endoscopes, the disinfection and sterilization effects were not significantly different from those of automatic endoscope disinfection machines (using peracetic acid disinfectant solution) (P > 0.05), and the economic cost of disinfectant required per endoscope was lower (1.5 China Yuan), with a shorter disinfection time (30 minutes).
CONCLUSION
The methods and results of this study provide a basis for further research on the use of VHP for the disinfection of gastrointestinal endoscopes, as well as for the development of anhydrous disinfection technology for gastrointestinal endoscopes.
Core Tip: This study pioneers an anhydrous disinfection method for gastrointestinal endoscopes using vaporized hydrogen peroxide generated from sodium percarbonate granules. Demonstrating comparable efficacy to traditional liquid disinfectants, the method achieves high-level disinfection within 30 minutes while reducing water use, costs (1.5 China Yuan per cycle), and environmental impact. Key factors-humidity, exposure dosage, and organic burden-significantly influence efficacy, with no adverse effects from flow rate variations. This innovation aligns with green endoscopy goals, offering a sustainable, efficient alternative to resource-intensive reprocessing, and sets a foundation for future anhydrous sterilization technologies.
