Publications by authors named "Tao-Chieh Liu"
Article Synopsis
- Reprocessing GI endoscopes and accessories is crucial for patient safety, yet current practices fail to ensure complete cleanliness, with about 5.4% of duodenoscopes still contaminated.
- The Digestive Endoscopy Society of Taiwan (DEST) has developed updated standards for endoscopic reprocessing to enhance quality control in GI endoscopy centers.
- These guidelines offer detailed, step-by-step instructions and recommendations based on comprehensive reviews of existing practices and clinical effectiveness to improve patient safety.
Objectives: Between May and July 2021, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a sharp surge in community transmission in Taiwan. We present a three-stage restructuring process of pre-endoscopy triage at the beginning of the pandemic, which can support urgent endoscopic procedures while protecting endoscopy staff.
Methods: The pre-endoscopy triage framework was set up with three checkpoints at the hospital entrance, outpatient department, and endoscopy unit, with a specific target patient population and screening methods.
Two novel protocols for cleaning residual simethicone and fluid in patient-ready duodenoscopes.
J Gastroenterol Hepatol
July 2021
Background And Aim: Approximately 42-95% of working channels have been reported to show the presence of residual fluid despite endoscope reprocessing. The aim of this study was to design two novel protocols for cleaning residual simethicone and demonstrate its efficiency by evaluating the residual fluid and cleanliness in the working channels of patient-ready duodenoscopes.
Methods: The designed protocol for cleaning residual simethicone was implemented in manual cleaning and/or high-level disinfection (HLD).
Background: Patient-ready duodenoscopes were designed with an assumed contamination rate of less than 0.4%; however, it has been reported that 5.4% of clinically used duodenoscopes remain contaminated with viable high-concern organisms despite following the manufacturer's instructions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Multiple outbreaks from contaminated duodenoscopes have been reported since 2008. This study assessed results of a multicenter comprehensive quality control (QC) program to enhance manual cleaning efficacy of duodenoscopes in endoscopy units.
Methods: Digestive Endoscopy Society of Taiwan implemented a QC program with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing of patient-used duodenoscopes in 2 rounds of on-site audit in endoscopy units.