Sharing Our Experience of Operating an Endoscopy Unit in the Midst of a COVID-19 Outbreak

Han, Jimin; Kim, Eun Young

GI endoscopy has the potential of spreading COVID-19 infection because of the following reasons: (1) the procedure Fig. 1 . Endoscopy unit staffs after donning personal protection equipment (from left to right, assisting nurse, endoscopist, and scope handler). All staffs are wearing hair caps, a pair of goggles, N95 facial masks, disposable gowns, two layers of gloves (one pair of non-latex exam gloves and another pair of latex surgical gloves or rubber gloves), and pairs of shoe covers. During the endoscopic exam, another disposable plastic gown was worn over the already donned gown. requires close contact between healthcare personnel and patients, (2) cough, retching, and flatus generate aerosols, and (3) oral and/or fecal materials often contaminate their surroundings during GI endoscopy. To eliminate the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the endoscopy unit, rigorous safety measures for both healthcare personnel and patients are prerequisite. This pandemic, too, shall pass. Until then, the best strategy is frequent handwashing, proper use of PPE, and rigorous enforcement of reprocessing and disinfection of the endoscopic unit.