In recent years, with the development of endoscopic technology and its widespread clinical application, the cleaning and disinfection process of flexible endoscopes after use has received more and more attention. The final rinse is the final treatment process after the cleaning and disinfection of flexible endoscopes. If the bacterial content in the rinsing water is too high for a long time, it is very easy to cause the failure of the disinfection process and lead to the slow formation of biofilm on the inner wall. For this reason, the "Technical Specifications for Cleaning and Disinfection of Flexible Endoscopes" WS507-2016 requires that flexible endoscopes be rinsed with purified water or sterile water, and the total bacterial count in purified water should be ≤ 10CFU/100ML. However, domestic studies have pointed out that after tap water passes through the pure water preparation system, the bacteria in the water are
The phenomenon of increased bacterial content is particularly common in the water pipes of newly built endoscopy centers . Although purified water filtration devices have been installed for the final rinsing of flexible endoscopes in tertiary medical institutions in Shanghai, the qualified rate of terminal rinsing water is only 63.09%, and the longer the water pipes are used, the lower the qualified rate. In November 2021 , the Endoscopy Center of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University monitored the terminal rinsing water of digestive endoscopes and found that the number of colonies in purified water was significantly higher than the requirements of "Technical Specifications for Cleaning and Disinfection of Flexible Endoscopes" WS507-2016 . To this end, the Endoscopy Center of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and the Hospital Infection Management Department conducted an investigation and analysis on this, formulated disinfection and monitoring measures, and finally made the water used for terminal rinsing meet the requirements.
Continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion can indeed improve the quality of endoscope final rinse water, which has been verified in many studies and practical reports.
By adding continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion to the original water channel, the final rinse water was changed to a disinfectant containing hypochlorous acid. The experimental results showed that no bacteria exceeded the standard in repeated bacterial cultures after use. This indicates that continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion effectively improves the microbial quality of endoscope final rinse water and avoids bacterial contamination problems.
This conclusion is further supported. The study pointed out that after introducing a slightly acidic hypochlorous acid water generator, the final rinse water of the endoscope was disinfected, which could significantly reduce the bacterial content, and its effect was verified by microbial culture and metagenomic second-generation sequencing technology. This indicates that the sustained disinfection effect of hypochlorous acid can effectively remove biofilm and bacteria in the final rinse water of endoscopes.
Although traditional purified water and sterile water are widely used for terminal rinsing of endoscopes, their effects are not ideal, and continuous hypochlorous acid disinfectant has been proven to be a more effective solution. Studies have shown that this method can remove biofilm and change the types and quantities of bacteria, thereby improving the quality of final rinse water.
The authors added background information, pointing out that the quality of endoscope final rinse water is directly related to the effectiveness of endoscope disinfection and patient safety. In traditional methods, the bacterial qualification rate is less than 60% due to the complex preparation of purified water and its susceptibility to contamination. Continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion, as an innovative technology, can effectively reduce the bacterial content and ensure the safety and reliability of endoscope disinfection.
Continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion significantly improves the water quality by effectively inhibiting and removing bacteria and biofilm in the endoscope final rinse water, thereby ensuring the quality of endoscope disinfection and patient safety.
Preparation of hypochlorous acid solution:
aqueous solution can be continuously and stably generated through the electrolysis technology of BLUEWAV's hypochlorous acid generator .
The hypochlorous acid solution produced can be used on human tissues, such as acute, ulcer, burn and other mild to moderate infected wounds. Conventionally, wet compress or flushing is used 1 to 3 times a day according to the specific conditions of the wound, each time for 10 to 15 minutes.
If the wound requires longer-term antibacterial effect, negative pressure sealing drainage technology can be combined.
Due to its high efficiency in sterilization, high safety and environmental protection, it is widely used in many fields such as medical care, food processing, catering hygiene, education, hotels , etc.
Possible implementations of continuous perfusion:
Some studies have mentioned that continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion can be achieved by adding a terminal filtration membrane to the original waterway. Although the specific steps are not detailed, it can be inferred that the hypochlorous acid solution needs to be transported to the target area through a specific pipeline system and ensure that the solution can be continuously supplied.
The resulting hypochlorous acid water is slightly acidic, with a pH value usually between 5.0 and 6.5, and an effective chlorine concentration of 10 to 30 ppm. This hypochlorous acid water is a weakly acidic oxidant with strong oxidizing and bactericidal abilities.
In addition, studies have pointed out that the main reasons for microbial contamination of endoscope final rinse water are unreasonable water pipeline design, failure to replace filters in time, or inappropriate filter pore size, etc. Therefore, the risk of microbial contamination can be effectively reduced by improving water pipeline design, regularly replacing filters, and using hypochlorous acid disinfectants.
Environmental characteristics
During the electrolysis process, no higher oxides of chlorine (such as HClO₃, HClO₄, etc.) are produced, and no oxygen or ozone is released. Therefore, the slightly acidic hypochlorous acid water generated is more environmentally friendly.
The slightly acidic hypochlorous acid water generator is usually composed of an electrolytic cell, a power supply, a control system and a safety protection device. The user only needs to add low-concentration salt water or acidic aqueous solution into the device and turn on the power to automatically complete the electrolysis process to generate the required hypochlorous acid water.
produced by BLUEWAV has strong advantages in long-term effectiveness and safety in endoscope disinfection .
Good disinfection effect
Good security and stability
Convenience of operation
Good long-term effect
Less impact on endoscopic equipment
Based on the above analysis, continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion has significant long-term effect and safety in endoscope disinfection. It can effectively kill bacteria and reduce the risk of cross-infection, while having little impact on endoscopic equipment and being easy to operate. Therefore, continuous hypochlorous acid perfusion is a method of endoscope disinfection worthy of promotion.
