Dual purpose easily assembled aerosol chamber designed for safe endoscopy and intubation during the COVID pandemic

Bidirectional Endoscopy—A Trend for Future in COVID Era

Background and Study Aims In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, patients undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy on the same day (bidirectional endoscopy [BDE]) have increased. The aims of the study were to compare the procedure times, benefits, and safety of same-day BDE and conventional serial endoscopic examination (SEE).

Patients and Methods All the patients undergoing evaluation with either BDE or SEE were prospectively enrolled at Ramaiah Medical College and Hospitals, Bangalore, from 1st December 2020 to 31st May 2021. EGD was immediately followed by colonoscopy in BDE. In SEE, EGD was followed by colonoscopy in 1 or 2 days. Clinical data and results were collected and evaluated.

Results Two hundred consecutive patients who consented for BDE were enrolled in the study. The mean ± standard deviation (range) age of the patients was 45 ± 14.5 (22–60) years. Majority (124 [62%]) were men. The outcome measures of Boston Bowel Preparation Scale with the excellent/good preparation score and polyp detection rate were similar in both groups (p = 0.4). The total procedure time was significantly higher in the SEE group than in the BDE (p < 0.001). There were no adverse events noted in the study. The overall patient experience and satisfaction were higher in BDE than in SEE without any difference in the quality of the procedures (p < 0.001). Patients with weight loss and anemia were more likely to have a positive test result than the patients with abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Conclusions In conclusion, same-day BDE is advised for patients with anemia and weight loss which can reduce the number of hospital visits and improve patient satisfaction in COVID times.

COVID-19 prevalence among health-care workers of Gastroenterology department: An audit from a tertiary-care hospital in India

BACKGROUND AND AIM

In the present coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) era, health-care workers (HCWs) warrant special attention because of their higher risk and potential to transmit the disease. Gastroenterology services include emergency and critical care along with the endoscopy procedures, which have aerosol-generating potential. This study was aimed at auditing the COVID-19 impact on HCWs working in the Gastroenterology department of our hospital.

METHODS

The COVID-19 status of 117 HCWs was collected using either polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or Immunoglobulin G (IgG) seroassay. COVID-19 positivity was correlated with demographic characteristics, job profile, area of work, and medical history.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight HCWs (32.48%) showed evidence of COVID-19 using PCR (23.93%) or only IgG assay (8.55%). Endoscopy technicians (68.75%) exhibited significantly higher (P = 0.003) COVID-19 incidence compared to doctors (20.69%). Those working in the critical care units exhibited a trend toward higher COVID-19 incidence (42.86%). None of the six HCWs who received adequate hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis developed evidence of COVID-19. All the HCWs with COVID-19 disease recovered. However, there was a considerable loss of "man-days."

CONCLUSIONS

In our setting, we observed a high COVID-19 risk for HCWs working in the Gastroenterology department, with the highest risk among the endoscopy technicians. A more stringent triaging and pretesting of patients, as well as HCWs, might decrease the risk of COVID-19. Further multicenter studies are needed to evaluate the risk and related parameters.