The Effectiveness of Drying on Residual Droplets, Microorganisms, and Biofilms in Gastrointestinal Endoscope Reprocessing: A Systematic Review

Table 1

Characteristics of the quasi-randomized controlled trials.

First author (year)	Country	Study design	Intervention methods	Sample	Outcomes and measurement	Conclusions
Kovaleva (2010) [29]	Netherlands	Quasirandomized controlled trial	(a) PAA-based disinfectant with additional sterile compressed air(SCA); (b) PAA-based disinfectant without additional drying	Biofilm in endoscopes	MTT signal, colony-forming units	PAA-based disinfectant with SCA reliably removed biofilm additional
Grandval (2013) [24]	France	Quasirandomized controlled trial	(a) Storage cabinets for heat-sensitive endoscopes (SCHE); (b) Clean, dry, dedicated cupboard without morning disinfection; (c) Clean, dry, dedicated cupboard with morning disinfection	Endoscopes ()	Endoscope contamination levels	SCHE might maintain the microbiological quality of endoscopes
Saliou (2015) [25]	France	Quasirandomized controlled trial	(a) In a clean, dry, dedicated cupboard; (b) In an AS300 Hysis SCHE	(a); (b)	Endoscope contamination levels	The use of SCHE significantly reduced the rate of contaminated endoscopes
Hassaine-Lahfa (2017) [27]	Algeria	Quasirandomized controlled trial	(a) Without drying the material after sterilization; (b) Drying the endoscope’s channels with compressed air after sterilization	(a); (b)	The number of Candida sp. isolates	The effects of drying by compressed air enhanced their sterilization
Wong Chan (2017) [26]	China	Quasirandomized controlled trial	(a) Without drying; (b) Dried with compressed air; (c) With 75% alcohol then dried with compressed air	(a); (b); (c)	Colony-forming units; detection rates of pathogenic microorganism	75% alcohol plus compressed air enhanced their sterilization and was superior to compressed air
Barakat (2019) [20]	America	Quasirandomized controlled trial	(a) Manual forced air drying; (b) Automated drying for 5 min; (c)Automated drying for 10 min	Endoscopes ()	Retained fluid; ATP bioluminescence values	Automated drying may decrease the risk of endoscope infection transmission

MTT: measuring the tetrazolium salt; PAA: peracetic acid-based; SCHE: storage cabinet for heat-sensitive endoscopes; ATP: adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence. SEM: scanning electron microscopy.