Despite attempts at innovation, duodenoscopes are still a health risk. 

Duodenoscopes are long, hose-like cameras which are inserted via the mouth and navigated through the GI tract to diagnose and treat diseases. They are used frequently in the United States, in about 500,000 procedures a year. 

Unfortunately, duodenoscopes are very difficult to clean. When they aren’t cleaned adequately it can lead to bacteria being spread from one person’s internal organs to others, with devastating consequences. We’ve written several blog posts in the past about infections caused by duodenoscopes harboring bacteria, primarily covering the 2013 outbreak of a superbug at Virginia Mason Medical Center here in Seattle, which infected 32 patients, including 11 patients who died. 

So many people have been infected with dirty duodenoscopes that the FDA issued a statement in 2019 urging health care facilities to switch from completely reusable duodenoscopes to newer models with disposable parts. To great dismay, these duodenoscopes have fared no better. The disposable parts have fallen off while inside patients and have cut into patients’ tissue. In one case, a patient required a blood transfusion after a duodenoscope with a faulty disposable tip lacerated their esophagus. 

The company making these new duodenoscopes is Olympus Medical Systems, based out of Japan. They’ve received quite a few complaints, and the FDA has communicated with them several times, including flying an inspector out to one of their facilities in Tokyo in 2022.

Doctors are still using reusable duodenoscopes and the ones from Olympus Medical Systems. Other companies are attempting to make their own duodenoscopes that don’t have such a high risk of endangering patients, but no industry breakthroughs have been made as of yet. If you plan on doing a procedure involving a duodenoscope, make sure to discuss the potential risks with your doctor.