Endoscopic Interventions in Patients With COVID-19

Overview

This is a combined study including a descriptive part about the preparations for COVID-19 and the impact of COVID-19 on the daily routine of the work in an Interdisciplinary Endoscopic Unit (IEU), and a point-prevalence analysis for possible positive SARS-CoV-2 carriers among the staff of the IEU, and finally a prospective analysis of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients who required endoscopic intervention. Results are presented in the captures: 1. SARS-CoV-2-pandemic related restructuring of the processes in the IEU, 2. SARS-CoV-2-pandemic related impact on the staff of the IEU, and 3. Analysis of endoscopic interventions in patients with confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection.

This article is intended to provide an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on an interdisciplinary endoscopy unit (IEU, gastroenterological endoscopy, surgical endoscopy, and bronchoscopy) at the University Hospital Tübingen, a center for tertiary care in South-western Germany. First, preparations for COVID-19 pandemic with respect to the IEU are presented, and compared with those of other endoscopy units (7, 8). Additionally, the direct impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the staff of the IEU will be shown, together with a point-prevalence analysis of SARS-CoV-2 of the staff at the end of the SARS-CoV-2 wave in Tübingen. Finally, to our knowledge for the first time, we conducted a prospective single center analysis of the patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, which required a diagnostic or therapeutic endoscopic intervention.

Conditions

Interventions