According to a commentary published in Annals of Internal Medicine, patients preparing for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) may want to ask their physicians about the cleanliness of their duodenoscopes (specialized endoscopes used for ERCP procedures).
Recently, the recognition of "superbug infections" from agents transmitted by duodenoscopes has prompted investigation and development of action plans by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and professional medical societies. A review of data on endoscope-related infections, exposures, or device contaminations contained 146 reports linked to duodenoscopes, which included 13 deaths. To date, at least 6 duodenoscope-related outbreaks of multidrug-resistant bacteria have been reported in the United States and a recent study reported that 1.9 percent of duodenoscope cultures were positive for pathogenic bacteria despite strict adherence to manufacturers' reprocessing and high-level disinfection guidelines.
While new guidelines on duodenoscope cleaning are being developed, patients should be informed that the absolute risk for infection from an endoscopic procedure is low, as is the risk for infection from a duodenoscope contaminated by a multi-drug-resistant organism. Physicians should stay current on guidelines and strive to establish an environment of open information exchange with patients about what is being done to maximize their safety.
Article: Getting to Zero: Reducing the Risk for Duodenoscope-Related Infections, Jeffrey L. Tokar, MD; John I. Allen, MD; and Michael L. Kochman, MD, Annals of Internal Medicine, doi:10.7326/M15-1719, published online 22 September 2015.