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. 2022 May 15;16(3):404-413.
doi: 10.5009/gnl210063.

The Influence of Face Shields on the Quality of Colonoscopy in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jin Wook Lee  1 , Hyo Jeong Lee  2 , Dae Sung Kim  1 , Jiyoung Yoon  1 , Seung Wook Hong  1 , Ha Won Hwang  1 , Jong-Soo Lee  2 , Gwang-Un Kim  2 , Sinwon Lee  2 , Jaewon Choe  2 , Jin Hwa Park  1 , Dong-Hoon Yang  1 , Jeong-Sik Byeon  1
Affiliations

The Influence of Face Shields on the Quality of Colonoscopy in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jin Wook Lee et al. Gut Liver. .

Abstract

Background/aims: The worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led endoscopists to use personal protective equipment (PPE) for infection prevention. This study aimed to investigate whether wearing a face shield as PPE affects the quality of colonoscopy.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records and colonoscopy findings of patients who underwent colonoscopies at Asan Medical Center, Korea from March 10 to May 31, 2020. The colonoscopies in this study were performed by five gastroenterology fellows and four expert endoscopists. We compared colonoscopy quality indicators, such as withdrawal time, adenoma detection rate (ADR), mean number of adenomas per colonoscopy (APC), polypectomy time, and polypectomy adverse events, both before and after face shields were added as PPE on April 13, 2020.

Results: Of the 1,344 colonoscopies analyzed, 715 and 629 were performed before and after the introduction of face shields, respectively. The median withdrawal time was similar between the face shield and no-face shield groups (8.72 minutes vs 8.68 minutes, p=0.816), as was the ADR (41.5% vs 39.8%, p=0.605) and APC (0.72 vs 0.77, p=0.510). Polypectomy-associated quality indicators, such as polypectomy time and polypectomy adverse events were also not different between the groups. Quality indicators were not different between the face shield and no-face shield groups of gastroenterology fellows, or of expert endoscopists.

Conclusions: Colonoscopy performance was not unfavorably affected by the use of a face shield. PPE, including face shields, can be recommended without a concern about colonoscopy quality deterioration.

Keywords: COVID-19; Colonoscopy; Face shield; Personal protective equipment; Quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Wearing of a face shield (Sview, RoitsNine Corp.).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Inclusion and exclusion of study participants.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of PDR, ADR, and AADR according to whether a face shield was worn. PDR, polyp detection rate; ADR, adenoma detection rate; AADR, advanced adenoma detection rate; FS, face shield; No-FS, no-face shield.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Comparison of withdrawal time between the face shield (FS) and no-face shield (No-FS) groups according to the endoscopist expertise levels. The dotted line in each dot plot represents the mean level. The black line in each dot plot represents the median level. The grey lines in each dot plot represent the 25% and 75% quartile levels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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