Safety in digestive endoscopy during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Gastroenterology
• Public Health

Background:

• The study by Hernández-Camba et al. evaluated the utility of antibody testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in patients undergoing endoscopic procedures.
• The research was conducted nine months after the initial state of alarm in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discussion:

• The authors comment on the findings of Hernández-Camba et al., suggesting that the study's conclusions regarding antibody testing are now self-evident.
• However, they emphasize that the context at the time of the study's performance was different, implying the findings were less obvious then.

Key Insights:

• Antibody testing for COVID-19 prior to endoscopic procedures demonstrated limited value.
• Effective infection control measures, including personal protective equipment (PPE) and postponement of non-urgent procedures for infected patients, were crucial in preventing infections among endoscopy staff.
• The scarcity of infections among staff, when precautions were followed, made pre-procedural antibody testing less critical.

Outlook:

• Future recommendations for infection control in endoscopy should consider the evolving understanding of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and the effectiveness of implemented safety protocols.
• The study highlights the importance of evaluating diagnostic test utility within the specific epidemiological context of a pandemic.