To the Editor:

You are very fortunate to have Ms. Thomas writing for Gastroenterology Nursing. Her column on Endoscope Storage (Gastroenterology Nursing, 28(1), 45-46) is well written and accurate. The use of bullet points in the summary and references to current standards makes the article especially valuable to GI nurses.

During my 12 years as the Infection Control Practitioner for Olympus America, Inc., the issue of distal tip protectors had come up a number of times. Of particular concern was the contamination issue Ms. Thomas touched upon. One of the issues with these protectors was their potential for becoming infection control hazards, due partially to the difficulty in reprocessing or decontaminating such porous devices. There was no question about their merit as protective devices. Based upon various discussions, I would recommend either regarding these tip protectors as disposable devices and discarding them after a single use, discarding them at regular (i.e., weekly) intervals, or discarding them when they are visibly soiled or obviously moist. An additional concern would be their placement on the distal tip so as not to block the openings at the distal tip.

Thanks for starting this valuable series and selecting such a skilled writer.

Steve Goldstine, PhD

Steve Goldstine Consultants, Albuquerque, New Mexico, [email protected]