To elicit information on endoscope cleaning practices and the perceived risk of cross-infection, questionnaires were mailed to 500 physicians and 1,000 gastroenterology nurses and associates in November and December 1991. The survey results indicated that while the majority (83% of nurse/associates and 82% of physicians) expressed satisfaction with current cleaning methods, levels of confidence in endoscope reprocessing varied in several key areas. Concern about the potential for device-borne human immunodeficiency virus transmission was expressed by 82% of nurses and 87% of physicians, while 75% of nurses and 53% of physicians feared being liable should cross-infection occur. While most respondents (86% of physicians and 30% of nurses) were unaware of cross-infection incidents, 6% of nurses reported outbreaks in their institutions. According to survey responses, the risk of cross-infection may be attributable to variable cleaning practices—failure to clean scopes before placing them in disinfectant, abbreviated overall cleaning times, and inconsistent disinfectant immersion times—that may be compounded by unreliable automatic disinfectors. At least once a year endoscopes were blocked by debris according to 74% of nurses and 72% of physicians. Reactions to glutaraldehyde had been experienced by 87% of nurses and 65% of physicians. Gastroenterology professionals may be unaware of the actual incidence of cross-infection, but recognize its potential. Lapses in cleaning practices and the difficulty in monitoring postendoscopy nosocomial infections add to their uncertainty.