Cleaning and disinfection of gastrointestinal endoscopes. Comparative analysis of two disinfectants.

UNLABELLED: Gastrointestinal endoscopy can lead to infectious complications, and endoscopes must be disinfected to prevent them. AIM: to evaluate three methods of disinfection: 1) usual cleaning technique and immersion in glutaraldehyde phenolate (GP); 2) meticulous cleaning and immersion in GP, and 3) meticulous cleaning and immersion in hydrogen peroxide. METHOD: thirty endoscopes (15 gastroscopes and 15 colonoscopes) were disinfected with each method. Samples were taken following endoscopic exploration, after cleaning and after disinfection, and were cultured. The number of positive culture (cfu/ml > 1) was counted. RESULTS: the rate of contamination of endoscopes did not decrease significantly after cleaning with method 1 (66 vs 60%), but did decrease with method 2 (38 vs 16%) and method 3 (53 vs 17%). The contamination rate after cleaning was significantly lower with methods 2 and 3 (p < 0.005). This rate was also lower after disinfection (p < 0.025). Method 3 achieved 0% contamination following disinfection. CONCLUSIONS: the greatest decrease in contamination rate was achieved with conscientious cleaning followed by disinfection. Both disinfectants yielded similar results, although hydrogen peroxide produced a higher level of disinfection.

[Morbidity caused by accidents in the child population in Cantabria]. / Estudio de la morbilidad por accidentes en la población infantil de Cantabria.

This work presents the morbidity by accident which required medical assistance, covering the population from zero-to-nineteen years of the Autonomic Community of Cantabria between the first of October 1986 and the 30th of September 1987. For this study 1610 families chosen at random depending on the zone's population, were interviewed. The number of registered accidents was of 527 and the number of injured children of 453, which represents the 28.14% of the total of children interviewed. A 42.66% required out-patient medical assistance, a 53.82% required medical assistance at the hospital's emergency units and a 3.5% had to enter hospital. A 5.1% of the accidents were considered very serious, no deaths occurred. The circumstances that defined the accidents were analyzed and the facts that conditioned them, subject, agent and mean.