Things are looking up!
ALICANTE general is the first hospital in Spain to start using a new disposable endoscope for treating bile duct conditions.
This singleuse device offers the same image quality and efficiency as conventional, reusable duodenoscopes, explained a hospital spokeswoman.
Its use on highrisk patients will improve the safety of these procedures, she assured, which include kidney stones, inflammatory stenosis ( scars), bile leaks after surgery or injuries to the bile duct, and obstructions caused by tumours.
Cleaning and disinfecting reusable duodenoscopes to minimise the risk of infection from microorganisms is complicated so a singleuse one was one of the proposed solutions, explained the head of the digestive enodscopy unit, Dr José Ramón Aparicio.
The first person to use one of these was Dr Belén Martínez,
for an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography ( ERCP) on a highrisk patient. She said it had been just as good as a reusable one and would be useful for immunedeprived patients, ‘ for example those who have had a recent kidney transplant, are undergoing oncological treatment or have haematological illnesses, for whom the introduction of a foreign germ could be harmful’. It would also be good for patients with an infection or who have germs that are resistant to antibiotics, such as those who are in intensive care or reanimation for extended periods.
“The Covid pandemic has been a cause of concern for endoscopy units,” said Dr Aparicio, as the procedures generate aerosols which can transmit the coronavirus.
As such, using the disposable duodenoscopes on Covid patients is safer for medical personnel.