Ever since 1968, when the method of flexible bronchoscope was created, the specific method of reusable instruments has been the name of the game. The idea of having the best possible equipment for usage seemed like the most optimal solution for the growing general market that is bronchoscopy. Over the past few years, that narrative has drastically changed, with a rapidly growing market for disposable instruments. Why now and what the benefits are for using disposable over reusable bronchoscopes are common enquiries that are being delved into. This study is aimed to analyse the pros and cons of the different methods, as well as understanding the cost effectiveness. Questions such as, “during a year long period, what method is the cheapest”, “what kind of materials go into a bronchoscope, are their differences” and “what is the most preferred method by relevant personnel” are questions that have been examined. To find these answers, relevant personnel at Swedishhospitals were interviewed, and thorough research was conducted through published articles. The results, pointed towards the fact that it depends on how often the bronchoscope is being used. A smaller hospital that uses a bronchoscope three times a year will benefit from using a disposable bronchoscope from a cost-effective perspective. While a bigger hospital that uses a bronchoscope more than 1000 times a year, will benefit from using a reusable bronchoscope from a cost-effective perspective. If you however take the rate of infections of 2.8% from using a reusable bronchoscope into account, the disposable instrument is the optimal solution. This will work parallel with the potential risk of costs from a fault diagnosis, which increases with the worse camera that the disposable bronchoscope provides. As of today there is no simple answer to which solution is the better one both economically and environmentally. What hospitals should do is make calculations and balance the options against each other and find the best solution for their hospital according to their needs and possibilities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-448440 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Krause, Tobias, Kask, Sebastian |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för materialvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.002 seconds