Duodenoscopes: Throw Them Out?

Or Put Them in the Wash?

Grace H. Elta, MD
San Diego—The potential for infection with reusable duodenoscopes has created an industry for
disposable scopes, but some still question whether this is the best approach to the problem. Two
expert endoscopists tackled this issue in a debate format at the 2022 Digestive Disease Week.

Tasked with arguing for keeping scopes and doing a better job at reprocessing them was Grace
H. Elta, MD, a professor emerita of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.
Assigned to push for more single-scope usage was Klaus Mergener, MD, PhD, an affiliate
professor of medicine at the University of Washington, in Seattle. Both are past presidents of the
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

The speakers discussed the risk for infection with reprocessed scopes, quality of disposable
scopes and the environmental impact of both types. Although they disagreed about the issue of
widespread adoption of single-use scopes, they agreed that disposable scopes signify long-
overdue innovation.