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HIV/STD from ENT Endoscope

Hi folks!

Would really appreciate some insights on my case as I am a bit confused after reading different bits of information.

Case: I have visited the ENT Consultant for examination. During the visit he performed nose anaestetics followed by a quite deep nose/throat endoscopy with the flexible endoscope that was at his desk when I entered the room. I noticed he cleaned the endoscope with wet wipes he took out of the container at his desk. The endoscope looked like this: http://img.medicalexpo.com/images_me/kwref/kwref-g/8/8/1588.jpg   I was quite stressed about the procedure so did not question his desinfection practices. I am also not sure whether it was  a sterile one and whether it had been used on the previous patient. Let us assume the worst case scenario.

Question: Can such endoscope transmit HCV/HIV provided that such a mechanical cleaning performed might not be sufficient to desinfect it while it is quite possible to cause micro-traumas in tissues thus opening the access to the bloodstreams of patients?

Thanks a lot for your insigsts.
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MedHelp administration deleted the offending message.
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Avatar universal
There is a lot of alarmist misinformation in the comments by turkoporto. Most endoscope users, whether ENT or in other specialities (GI, pulmonary, etc) do indeed sterilize them between uses; there are no regulatory differences between outpatient versus inpatient clinical services; and I'm pretty sure there have been no reliably reported HIV, HPV, or other STD transmissions by endoscopes, at least not in the United States. I think there was a hepatitis B (or A?) incicent a few years ago due to inadequate sterilization, after which the recommended sterilzation procedures were revised.

The bottom line: Nobody is currently at significant risk of any infection from endoscopy, at least not in the US and probably not in any other industrialized country.
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Avatar universal
You never had an exposure.
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Avatar universal
Some clarifications:

Worst case scenario = this endoscope was not sterile, was used on the previous patient who had HIV and HCV who left a lot of infected muscus/blood on the surface tube.

Cleaning = ENT doctor used standard isopropyl wipes that evaporate faster, than desinfect. Moreover, he did not entirely wipe the biological liquids from the surface.
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