“Meticulous” cleaning of duodenoscopes may not eliminate infection risk, US watchdog warns

Because of their complex design, even meticulous cleaning of the specialized endoscopes used in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures may fail to prevent transmission of infection, the US Food and Drug Administration has warned.

In its warning1 the FDA said that it had received multiple reports of infections in patients who had procedures with these specialized endoscopes (duodenoscopes), including infections with multidrug resistant carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) such as Klebsiella species and Escherichia coli.

The warning came a day after the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, announced that it had notified …