In this COVID-19 era, several guidelines recommend Pre-endoscopy viral real-time PCR (RT-PCR) testing in addition to personal protective equipment (PPE) to check its spread. A recent study retrospectively analyzed 15,750 GI endoscopies performed by 29 endoscopy staff members in one institution for 20 months using PPE and three different test approaches: no testing (n=4543), rapid antigen (R.A.) testing (n=682), and RT-PCR testing (n=10 465). Additionally, there were 60 endoscopies performed in patients with proven COVID-19. 

The analysis showed that none of a single staff member became infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the 20 months, and the vaccination rate of the team was 97%. 

Thus, the study suggested that pre-selection of patients with respective questionnaires, vaccination, and particularly PPE is sufficient for preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in G.I. endoscopy.

Source:  Hann A, Flemming S, Reimer S, Groneberg K, et al. Gut. 2022 Jul 7;gutjnl-2022-327053. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2022-327053.