A recent study found duodenoscopes can sit for longer than previously believed without risk, according to an article on the Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality website.
Current guidelines say the time should be limited to 14 days.
The study looked at times from reprocessing to sampling ranging from less than a day to nearly 40 days.
"We did not find a significant association between hang time and risk of duodenoscope contamination," the researchers wrote.