Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jul;54(4):522-525.
doi: 10.5946/ce.2020.295. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test: Role in Screening Prior to Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Ashok Dalal  1 , Ujjwal Sonika  1 , Manish Kumar  1 , Roshan George  1 , Ajay Kumar  1 , Siddharth Srivastava  1 , Sanjeev Sachdeva  1 , Barjesh Chander Sharma  1
Affiliations

COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test: Role in Screening Prior to Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Ashok Dalal et al. Clin Endosc. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Background/aims: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic has affected the gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy units globally owing to the risk of transmission. We present our data on the use of rapid antigen test (RAT) as a screening tool prior to endoscopy to prevent the transmission of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent any GI endoscopic procedure from July 2020 to October 2020 at a tertiary referral center in New Delhi, India. All patients underwent screening for COVID-19 using RAT, and endoscopy was performed only when the RAT was negative. The data are presented as numbers and percentages.

Results: A total of 3,002 endoscopic procedures were performed during the study period. Only one endoscopic procedure was performed in a COVID-19 positive patient. A total of 53 healthcare workers were involved in conducting these procedures. Only 2 healthcare workers (3.8%) were diagnosed COVID-19 positive, presumably due to community-acquired infection, during this period.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 RAT is easily usable as a simple screening tool prior to GI endoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic retrograde; Endoscopy; SARS-COV-2 antigen testing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Ludwig S, Zarbock A. Coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2: a brief overview. Anesth Analg. 2020;131:93–96. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rana SS. Risk of COVID-19 transmission during gastrointestinal endoscopy. Journal of Digestive Endoscopy. 2020;11:27–30.
    1. Gralnek IM, Hassan C, Beilenhoff U, et al. ESGE and ESGENA position statement on gastrointestinal endoscopy and COVID-19: an update on guidance during the post-lockdown phase and selected results from a membership survey. Endoscopy. 2020;52:891–898. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sultan S, Siddique SM, Altayar O, et al. AGA institute rapid review and recommendations on the role of pre-procedure SARS-CoV-2 testing and endoscopy. Gastroenterology. 2020;159:1935–1948.e5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Indian Council of Medical Research . New Delhi: ICMR; c2020. Advisory on use of rapid antigen detection test for COVID-19 [Internet] [updated 2020 Jun 14]. Available from: https://www.icmr.gov.in/pdf/covid/strategy/Advisory_for_rapid_antigen_te....

LinkOut - more resources