{
  "abstract": "Background The intricate design of flexible endoscopes—characterized by long, coiled channels and accessories such as biopsy forceps—poses substantial challenges in cleaning. Effective infection control in digestive endoscopy is pivotal for medical safety. Recent guidelines and national standards (2023–2025) underscore the necessity of whole-chain quality control and precision monitoring. From the perspectives of endoscopy and infection control nurses, this study examines critical cleaning challenges—including inadequate cleaning, monitoring inconsistencies, and procedural delays—and investigates optimization strategies using a multi-dimensional quality control system to mitigate quality control pressures.Methods Guided by current infection prevention guidelines and expert consensus, we reviewed existing cleaning monitoring practices in large medical institutions. The study analyzed sampling data, focusing on the application of Quality Control Circle (QCC) activities and the FOCUS-PDCA model within pre-cleaning processes. These methodologies were employed to systematically evaluate the efficacy of multi-dimensional quality control strategies in reducing residual contamination and reprocessing rates.Results The air-water channels and biopsy ports emerged as high-risk sites. Although 79.3% of institutions maintain dedicated cleaning rooms and 97.6% employ multi-enzyme detergents, procedural non-compliance persists—only 31.7% conduct secondary disinfection before daily procedures. Discrepancies between protein residue testing and ATP bioluminescence monitoring hinder the timely detection of non-compliant endoscopes. Implementation of the FOCUS-PDCA model markedly improved compliance, with pre-cleaning and manual cleaning pass rates reaching 95.56% and 94.50%, respectively, compared to 81.50% and 86.50% in the control group. Air-water channel blockage rates decreased from 0.26% to 0.03%. Continuous improvement via QCC activities achieved qualification rates of up to 100%. Recognizing the limitations of single monitoring methods, we recommend an ‘optical + biochemical’ multi-dimensional system—combining borescope inspection with ATP bioluminescence—for cross-validation.Conclusions Overcoming cleaning blind spots is essential for infection prevention in flexible endoscopy. Establishing an optical-biochemical multi-dimensional quality control system, integrated within a whole-chain management framework, enables nurses to significantly reduce residues and reprocessing rates, thereby alleviating quality control pressures.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, China"
      ],
      "name": "Fang Lv"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, China"
      ],
      "name": "Shaojuan Chen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, China"
      ],
      "name": "Yahui Chen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, China"
      ],
      "name": "Jie Huang"
    }
  ],
  "title": "IDDF2026-ABS-0373 New advances in infection prevention and control in digestive endoscopy and optimization of practices: a focus on quality control in flexible endoscope cleaning",
  "uid": "a1c821df-e078-5302-aed9-3071b8233f56"
}