Effectiveness of drying in digestive endoscope reprocessing: Systematic review on residual droplets and microorganisms
Chengyi Han, Yanyan Chen, Yan Chen, Yangyi Li, Xuesong Jiang, Qing Song · 2026
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Description
Chengyi Han and co-authors review drying methods in endoscope reprocessing in a 2026 systematic review. After cleaning and disinfection, digestive endoscopes keep droplets inside their narrow working channels. Leftover moisture lets microbes regrow and raises infection risk for the next patient. The team searched three databases for studies of drying methods and their effects. Sixteen articles passed the quality checks for inclusion.
Six studies tracked residual droplets, six tracked microbial growth, and four tracked both. Manual drying alone left more moisture and growth behind. Pairing automated drying with standard steps cut residual fluid and contamination further. Drying cabinets stood out as the most effective automated option in the gathered reports. The authors recommend writing automated drying into standard reprocessing protocols. They note that consistent drying may be as important as the disinfection step itself. Hospitals can audit channel dryness as a simple quality target.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Chengyi Han, Yanyan Chen, Yan Chen, Yangyi Li, Xuesong Jiang, Qing Song |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 27 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |