Patients Ask: Is High-Level Disinfection Enough?
In October 2024, after Vanderbilt Health notified an unspecified number of patients that they may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C during endoscopy procedures, patients and healthcare workers across the country took notice. Many asked whether the current standard of care for endoscope decontamination, high-level disinfection (HLD), is adequate to ensure…