Evaluation of disposable polyethylene gloves in preventing contamination from biopsy valve cap leakage and associated gastrointestinal pressure testing

OBJECTIVE  To evaluate the efficacy of disposable polyethylene （PE） gloves in preventing contamination from biopsy valve cap leakage, and to investigate the correlation between pressure variations in different gastrointestinal segments and leakage incidents through a self-designed pressure monitoring device.

METHODS  Patients undergoing gastroscopy and colonoscopy at the First Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital in Jul. 2025 were randomly assigned to the experimental group （n=50） and the control group （n=50） via a random number table. The experimental group utilized disposable PE gloves to prevent leakage from biopsy valve cap, while the control group received no preventive measures. Parameters compared included leakage spray range, area, volume and average bacterial colony count. Additionally, satisfaction questionnaires were administered to 45 medical staff. Pressure monitoring across multiple gastrointestinal segments was conducted for the control group.

RESULTS  In the control group （n=50）, leakage from the old biopsy valve cap during gastroscopy and colonoscopy resulted in contamination in 89 and 104 instances, respectively. The average total area of single liquid spray was （4.59±3.53） cm² and （10.52±11.95） cm², showing a statistically significant difference （P＜0.001）and conditionally pathogenic bacteria were detected. The median bacterial colony counts in the control group were 33.00 （3.00, 120.00） and 266.00 （34.80, 1 275.00） ×10³ CFU/item for gastroscopy and colonoscopy, respectively, significantly higher than those in the experimental group （P＜0.001）. During gastroscopy and colonoscopy, the initial leakage sites with the highest frequency were the duodenum, stomach and esophagus. Ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon and rectum. During gastroscopy, the highest luminal pressure was in the descending duodenum, fluctuating between 6.00 （6.00, 10.00） and 10.00 （8.00, 12.00） mmHg. During colonoscopy, the highest luminal pressure was in the transverse colon, fluctuating between 8.00 （6.00, 8.50） and 10.00 （8.00, 12.00） mmHg. There was a positive correlation between mean pressure at different digestive tract and frequency of leakage and splashing (ρ=0.741), with Statistical significance (P＜0.05). No contamination occurred in the experimental group, and leaked fluid volume was 0.10 (0.00, 0.10) ml. Questionnaire results indicated an overall satisfaction score of （4.60±0.50） for the disposable PE gloves in terms of spray prevention, with scores exceeding 4.5 in spray prevention effectiveness, work efficiency improvement, ease of installation, adaptability, operational flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS  The application of disposable PE gloves to wrap the biopsy valve cap effectively prevents environmental contamination from leakage during gastroscopy and colonoscopy, offering convenience, cost-effictiveness and high satisfaction among medical staff. Luminal pressure varies across different gastrointestinal segments during gastroscopy and colonoscopy procedures, and a certain correlation exists between biopsy valve cap leakage and the pressure of gastrointestinal segments.