Three-in-20 scopes used to examine GI tracts and colons dirty

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 8 (UPI) -- Three-in-20 flexible gastrointestinal endoscopes used to examine GI tracts and colons are improperly cleaned and may cause infection, U.S. researchers say.

"Three out of 20 is an unexpectedly high number of endoscopes failing a cleanliness criterion," Marco Bommarito, lead investigator and lead research specialist at the 3M Infection Prevention Division, said in a statement. "Clearly, we'd like no endoscopes to fail a cleanliness rating."

Researchers in the 3M Infection Prevention Division analyzed 275 flexible duodenoscopes, gastroscopes and colonoscopes.

The study, presented at the 40th Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, found 30 percent of the duodenoscopes, used to diagnose and treat certain problems of the biliary or pancreatic ductal system; 24 percent of the gastroscopes used to diagnose the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract; and 3 percent of the colonoscopes did not pass a cleanliness rating.

In the last several years there have been reports of improperly cleaned endoscopes at healthcare facilities across the country, including the Veterans Administration, in which thousands of patients required testing for HIV, as well as hepatitis B and C, Bommarito said.