Plans to Reactivate Gastroenterology Practices Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of North American Centers.
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol
; 18(10): 2287-2294.e1, 2020 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-327107
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND & AIMS:
Practices dramatically reduced endoscopy services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because practices now are considering reintroduction of elective endoscopy, we conducted a survey of North American practices to identify reactivation barriers and strategies.METHODS:
We designed and electronically distributed a web-based survey to North American gastroenterologists consisting of 7 domains institutional demographics, impact of COVID-19 on endoscopy practice, elective endoscopy resumption plans, anesthesia modifications, personal protective equipment policies, fellowship training, and telemedicine use. Responses were stratified by practice type ambulatory surgery center (ASC) or hospital-based.RESULTS:
In total, 123 practices (55% ASC-based and 45% hospital-based) responded. At the pandemic's peak (as reported by the respondents), practices saw a 90% decrease in endoscopy volume, with most centers planning to resume elective endoscopy a median of 55 days after initial restrictions. Declining community prevalence of COVID-19, personal protective equipment availability, and preprocedure severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing availability were ranked as the 3 primary factors influencing reactivation timing. ASC-based practices were more likely to identify preprocedure testing availability as a major factor limiting elective endoscopy resumption (P = .001). Preprocedure SARS-CoV-2 testing was planned by only 49.2% of practices overall; when testing is performed and negative, 52.9% of practices will continue to use N95 masks.CONCLUSIONS:
This survey highlights barriers and variable strategies for reactivation of elective endoscopy services after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results suggest that more widespread access to preprocedure SARS-CoV-2 tests with superior performance characteristics is needed to increase provider and patient comfort in proceeding with elective endoscopy.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Disease Transmission, Infectious
/
Digestive System Diseases
/
Pandemics
/
Personal Protective Equipment
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Gastroenterology
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol
Journal subject:
Gastroenterology
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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