CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Digestive Endoscopy 2020; 11(04): 275-278
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1722379
Research Article

How Risky are Elective Endoscopic Procedures during the COVID-19 Normalization Process?

1   Department of Gastroenterology, Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital, Basaksehir/Istanbul, Turkey
,
2   Department of Internal Medicine, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Objective In this study, we aimed to investigate the incidence of COVID-19 after endoscopic procedures were performed with elective indications during the normalization process of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also aimed to investigate safety of these procedures.

Materials and Methods The study included 351 patients who underwent an endoscopic procedure for elective indications in the endoscopy unit of the gastroenterology department of the İstanbul Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital and whose risk assessment for COVID-19 was low before the procedure. All patients were followed-up within 14 days after the procedure in terms of getting a COVID-19 PCR test and its results and also assessing development of any symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath associated with COVID-19.

Results A total of 351 patients were included in the study. A total of 445 procedures were performed: upper gastrointestinal (GI) system endoscopy in 180 patients, colonoscopy in 74 patients, double procedure (upper GI endoscopy + colonoscopy) in 94 patients, and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in three patients. It was found that at least one of the symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, and fever developed in 33 (9.4%) of these 351 patients within 14 days. It was observed that 20(5.6‰)of these 33 patients were tested for COVID-19 and the test results were reported as positive in two(5.6‰)patients.

Conclusion In the normalization process of COVID-19, elective endoscopic procedures can be performed in patients, who are shown to be low risk, by paying attention to the consummate use of the personal protective equipment (PPE).



Publication History

Article published online:
31 December 2020

© 2020. Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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