Abstract
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Introduction: At Woodlands Health Medical Centre, all reusable cystoscopes are pre-cleaned before sending to the Endoscopy Centre’s AER processor for washing, necessitating additional manpower. This review evaluated the benefits and implications of substituting reusable cystoscopes with disposable ones, eliminating the requirement for the AER processor in outpatient settings.
Methodology: A systematic review of 10 articles sourced from PubMed databases and various journals, comparing the effects of disposable cystoscopes versus reusable ones. This review included articles that concluded on cost saving and manpower efficiency with disposable versus reusable cystoscopes. Non-English articles and those not related were excluded. Analysis involved reviewing the entire text and extracting relevant results aligned with the review’s objectives.
Result: Three key themes, namely: cost efficiency, manpower efficiency and environmental impacts were identified. Despite the potentially higher initial costs of reusable cystoscopes, their long-term cost-effectiveness is favourable. Compared to reusable ones, disposable cystoscopes offer portability and efficiency, have lower initial cost, reduce manpower, procedural, operative time, and carbon footprint.
Discussion and Conclusion: The adoption of disposable cystoscopes offers several advantages that notably reduce manpower, maintenance, cleaning, and reprocessing costs. By eliminating the necessity for reprocessing, disposable cystoscopes can streamline workflow and alleviate the workload on nurses. Additionally, while the initial costs of purchasing single-use cystoscopes may be higher, these expenses could be balanced out by savings in maintenance and cleaning costs over time. Ultimately, integrating single-use cystoscopes can enhance efficiency, achieve cost savings, and elevate patient care. Future research should assess the ecological impacts of both reusable and disposable cystoscopes.
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