Abstract
BACKGROUND: Along with the high demand, endoscopic procedures have ranked among the top 10 highest-risk medical technologies for patient safety according to ECRI over the past decade.
AIM: To assess epidemiological risks in endoscopic units of the Republic of Tatarstan based on their compliance with sanitary regulations.
METHODS: We developed a checklist for assessing epidemiological safety in endoscopy units and offices. The items are based on current sanitary requirements and use a binary scoring system (1 for compliance, 0 for non-compliance), with no intermediate scores. The checklist comprises 29 risk criteria grouped into four domains: layout and equipment; staffing and training (429 healthcare workers included); endoscope reprocessing; and laboratory testing. The maximum scores are: Domain 1—11, Domain 2—3, Domain 3—10, Domain 4—5 (total 29). We included 93 public healthcare facilities in the Republic of Tatarstan that perform endoscopic procedures. Data were analyzed using absolute and relative values and are presented as percentages.
RESULTS: The method allowed us to assess epidemiological safety in 93 facilities. The highest non-compliance rates were found in endoscope reprocessing (75.3%) and laboratory testing (70%). Overall, 5.4% of facilities were fully compliant (low risk, green), 52.7% were partially compliant (moderate risk, yellow), and 41.9% were non-compliant (high risk, red).
CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the need to strengthen epidemiological surveillance of sanitary compliance in endoscopy units and offices.