Manual versus automated methods for cleaning reusable accessory devices used for minimally invasive surgical procedures

We undertook a simulated-use study using quantitative methods to evaluate the cleaning efficacy of ported and non-ported accessory devices used in minimally invasive surgery. We chose laparoscopic scissors and forceps to represent worst-case devices which were inoculated with artificial test soil containing 10(6) cfu/mL Enterococcus faecalis and Geobacillus stearothermophilus and allowed to dry for 1 h. Cleaning was performed manually, as well as by the automated SI-Auto Narrow lumen cleaner. Manual cleaning left two- to 50-fold more soil residuals (protein, haemoglobin and carbohydrate) inside the lumen of non-ported versus ported laparoscopic accessory devices. The SI-Auto Narrow lumen cleaner was more efficient than manual cleaning and achieved >99% reduction in soil parameters in both non-ported (using retro-flushing) and ported laparoscopic devices. Only the automated cleaning of ported devices achieved 10(3)-10(4)-fold reduction in bacterial numbers. Sonication atone (no flushing of inner channel) did not effectively remove soil or organisms from the inner channel. Our findings indicate that non-ported accessory devices cannot be as reliably cleaned as ported devices regardless of the cleaning method used. If non-ported accessory devices are reprocessed, they should be cleaned using retroflushing in an automated narrow lumen cleaner. (C) 2004 The Hospitat Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.