To assess the efficacy of safety measures adopted during endoscopy in the Corona Virus Disease-19 era for health care professionals—A single-centre tertiary care hospital experience

Background and objectives During Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, it has been estimated that approximately 10% of health care professionals (HCPs) have been diagnosed contacting COVID-19. Aerosol-generating procedures have led to change in safety practices among HCPs. We thus evaluated the efficacy of the endoscopic safety measures among HCPs posted in the endoscopy unit. Methods In this retrospective analysis, all endoscopic procedures performed over a period of 4 months, from 1 April to 31 July 2020 were included. We noted indications and number of COVID-positive procedures as well as comprehensive screening of HCPs posted in our endoscopy unit. The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and outcome of COVID-19 among HCPs. Results Three thousand four hundred and sixty procedures were included in the analysis. Indications were divided as urgent ( n = 190, 5.49%), semi-urgent ( n = 553, 16%) and non-urgent group ( n = 2717, 78.52%). Thirty-four procedures (0.98%) were done on diagnosed COVID-19 patients. The most common indications were gastrointestinal bleed ( n = 12/34, 35.30%) followed by biliary sepsis ( n = 9/34, 26.5%). Among the HCPs, the incidence of symptomatic COVID-19 was 6.58% ( n = 5/76). All HCPs recovered with excellent outcomes. A comprehensive screening showed 7.90% ( n = 6/76) HCPs having Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody in their sera. Conclusion Addition of safety measures in endoscopy leads to low risk of transmission among HCPs.