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 Mar 8:76:e2280.
doi: 10.6061/clinics/2021/e2280. eCollection 2021.

Endoscopy infection control strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic: experience from a tertiary cancer center in Brazil

Amanda A M Pombo  1 , Luciano Lenz  1 , Gustavo A Paulo  1 , Mônica A Santos  1 , Patricia K Tamae  1 , Alisson L D R Santos  1 , Daniel T Rezende  1 , Bruno Martins  1 , Fabio S Kawaguti  1 , Caterina M P S Pennachi  1 , Carla C Gusmon-Oliveira  1 , Ricardo S Uemura  1 , Sebastian Geiger  1 , Marcelo S Lima  1 , Elisa R Baba  1 , Viviane R Figueiredo  1 , Adriana Safatle-Ribeiro  1 , Fauze Maluf-Filho  1 , Ulysses Ribeiro-Júnior  1
Affiliations

Endoscopy infection control strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic: experience from a tertiary cancer center in Brazil

Amanda A M Pombo et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). .

Abstract

Objectives: Strategic planning for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) care has dominated the agenda of medical services, which have been further restricted by the need for minimizing viral transmission. Risk is particularly relevant in relation to endoscopy procedures. This study aimed to describe a contingency plan for a tertiary academic cancer center, define a strategy to prioritize and postpone examinations, and evaluate the infection rate among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the endoscopy unit of the Cancer Institute of the State of São Paulo (ICESP).

Methods: We created a strategy to balance the risk of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and to mitigate the effects of postponing endoscopic procedures in oncological patients. A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on all endoscopies between March and June 2020 compared with those during the same period in 2019 was carried out. All HCWs were interviewed to obtain clinical data and SARS-CoV-2 test results.

Results: During the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a reduction of 55% in endoscopy cases in total. Colonoscopy was the most affected modality. The total infection rate among all HCWs was 38%. None of the senior digestive endoscopists had COVID-19. However, all bronchoscopists had been infected. One of three fellows had a serological diagnosis of COVID-19. Two-thirds of all nurses were infected, whereas half of all technicians were infected.

Conclusions: In this pandemic scenario, all endoscopy services must prioritize the procedures that will be performed. It was possible to maintain some endoscopic procedures, including those meant to provide nutritional access, tissue diagnosis, and endoscopic resection. Personal protective equipment (PPE) seems effective in preventing transmission of COVID-19 from patients to digestive endoscopists. These measures can be useful in planning, even for pandemics in the future.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Inpatients.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Out patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, et al. A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(8):727–33. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . New coronavirus an international public health emergency, WHO declares. 2020. [cited July 14th, 2020] Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019?
    1. Brasil M da S do Brasil confirma primeiro caso da doença . 2020. [cited July 14th, 2020] Available from: https://www.saude.gov.br/noticias/agencia-saude/46435-brasil-confirma-pr....
    1. Orientações sobre Coronavírus . 2020. [cited July 13th, 2020] Available from: http://www.cremesp.org.br/?siteAcao=NoticiasC&id=5581.
    1. British Society of Gastroenterology . Endoscopy activity and COVID-19: BSG and JAG guidance. 2020. [cited July 14th, 2020] Available from: https://www.bsg.org.uk/covid-19-advice/endoscopy-activity-and-covid-19-b...