Hostname: page-component-5d84bcc8dc-b7j62 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-09-05T15:26:12.853Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evaluation of a new technology for terminal sterilization of flexible endoscopes using hydrogen peroxide gas plasma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2025

Martin M. Varghese ,
Samir Memic Open the ORCID record for Samir Memic [Opens in a new window] ,
Maria M. Torres-Teran ,
Jennifer L. Cadnum ,
William A. Rutala  and
Curtis J. Donskey Open the ORCID record for Curtis J. Donskey [Opens in a new window]
Martin M. Varghese
Affiliation:
Research Service, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, OH, USA
Samir Memic
Affiliation:
Research Service, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, OH, USA
Maria M. Torres-Teran
Affiliation:
Research Service, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, OH, USA
Jennifer L. Cadnum
Affiliation:
Research Service, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, OH, USA
William A. Rutala
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Curtis J. Donskey*
Affiliation:
Research Service, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, OH, USA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Infectious Diseases Section, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
*
Corresponding author: Curtis J. Donskey; Email: curtis.donskey@va.gov
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In laboratory testing, a novel hydrogen peroxide gas plasma endoscope sterilizer consistently reduced vegetative organisms, but not bacterial spores, to undetectable levels in the presence of high organism load (≥6.5 log10) and organic material and salts. These findings highlight the importance of meticulous cleaning of endoscopes prior to sterilization.

Information

Type
Concise Communication
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , March 2025 , pp. 327 - 329
Check for updates
Copyright
© Department of Veterans Affairs, 2025. This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Rutala, WA, Donskey, CJ, Weber, DJ. Disinfection and sterilization: New technologies. Am J Infection Control 2023;51:A13–A21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutala, WA, Weber, DJ. Reprocessing semicritical items: An overview and an update on the shift from HLD to sterilization for endoscopes. Am J Infect Control 2023;51:A96–A106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutala, WA, Gergen, MF, Sickbert-Bennett, EE, Weber, DJ. Comparative evaluation of the microbicidal activity of low-temperature sterilization technologies to steam sterilization. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2020;41:391–395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutala, WA, Gergen, MF, Weber, DJ. Does blood on “dirty” instruments interfere with the effectiveness of sterilization technologies. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2022;43:1262–1264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutala, WA, Gergen, MF, Weber, DJ. Impact of an oil-based lubricant on the effectiveness of the sterilization processes. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29:69–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cadnum, JL, Kaple, CE, Rutala, WA, Donskey, CJ. Comment on the effectiveness of sodium hypochlorite against Clostridioides difficile spores. Microbiology (Reading) 2024;170:001436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alfa, MJ, DeGagne, P, Olson, N. Validation of ATS as an appropriate test soil to assess cleaning and sterilization efficacy in narrow lumened medical devices such as flexible endoscopes. Zentr Steril 2005;13:387–402.Google Scholar
Molloy-Simard, V, Lemyre, JL, Martel, K, Catalone, BJ. Elevating the standard of endoscope processing: terminal sterilization of duodenoscopes using a hydrogen peroxide-ozone sterilizer. Am J Infect Control 2019;47:243–250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. 2018. Duodenoscope surveillance sampling and culturing. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/111081/download.Google Scholar
Content and Format of Premarket Notification [510(k)] Submissions for Liquid Chemical Sterilants/High Level Disinfectants. Available at https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/content-and-format-premarket-notification-510k-submissions-liquid-chemical-sterilantshigh-level. Accessed August 3, 2025.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Varghese et al. supplementary material

Varghese et al. supplementary material
Download Varghese et al. supplementary material(File)
File 26.3 KB