COVID-19: Vademecum for gastrointestinal endoscopy

ABSTRACT

Since the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has been spreading globally, Italy and other nations worldwide have been adopting very strict measures to protect populations from the infection. However, the number of infected people is growing exponentially and the COVID-19 disease has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Endoscopy units (EUs) face significant risk for diffusion of respiratory diseases that can be spread via an airborne route, including aspiration of oral and fecal material via endoscopes. The purpose of this article is to discuss the potential impact of COVID-19 infections on EUs and to show how they should contribute to fighting the spread of this infection, protecting both patients and healthcare personnel. Further, we briefly report data on the current burden of the COVID-19 outbreak on EUs across Italy.