Perception of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Personnel on Society Recommendations on Personal Protective Equipment, Case Selection, and Scope Cleaning During Covid-19 Pandemic: An International Survey Study
Issued Date
2022-03-01
Resource Type
ISSN
22342400
eISSN
22342443
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85128283894
Journal Title
Clinical Endoscopy
Volume
55
Issue
2
Start Page
215
End Page
225
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Clinical Endoscopy Vol.55 No.2 (2022) , 215-225
Suggested Citation
Mekaroonkamol P. Perception of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Personnel on Society Recommendations on Personal Protective Equipment, Case Selection, and Scope Cleaning During Covid-19 Pandemic: An International Survey Study. Clinical Endoscopy Vol.55 No.2 (2022) , 215-225. 225. doi:10.5946/ce.2021.051 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/86041
Title
Perception of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Personnel on Society Recommendations on Personal Protective Equipment, Case Selection, and Scope Cleaning During Covid-19 Pandemic: An International Survey Study
Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Background/Aims: The Thai Association for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy published recommendations on safe endoscopy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to assess the practicality and applicability of the recommendations and the perceptions of endoscopy personnel on them. Methods: A validated questionnaire was sent to 1290 endoscopy personnel globally. Of these, the data of all 330 responders (25.6%) from 15 countries, related to the current recommendations on proper personal protective equipment (PPE), case selection, scope cleaning, and safety perception, were analyzed. Ordinal logistic regression was used to determine the relationships between the variables. Results: Despite an overwhelming agreement with the recommendations on PPE (94.5%) and case selection (95.5%), their practicality and applicability on PPE recommendations and case selection were significantly lower (p=0.001, p=0.047, p<0.001, and p=0.032, respectively). Factors that were associated with lower sense of safety in endoscopy units were younger age (p=0.004), less working experience (p=0.008), in-training status (p=0.04), and higher national prevalence of COVID-19 (p=0.003). High prevalent countries also had more difficulty implementing the guidelines (p<0.001) and they considered the PPE recommendations less practical and showed lower agreement with them (p<0.001 and p=0.008, respectively). A higher number of in-hospital COVID-19 patients was associated with less agreement with PPE recommendations (p=0.039). Conclusions: Using appropriate PPE and case selection in endoscopic practice during a pandemic remains a challenge. Resource availability and local prevalence are critical factors influencing the adoption of the current guidelines.