German endoscopy unit preparations for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A Nationwide Survey

Abstract

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a challenge for patients, health care professionals, and populations worldwide. Endoscopy units and their staff are at high risk to be exposed to and distribute the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, guidance on endoscopic activity in this pandemic is urgently needed. Recommendations must balance safety issues and practicability and, therefore, need to be cross validated by real-world data and updated as new findings emerge. To address the need for guidance in this situation, the European Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) and the German Respiratory Society (DGP) have published recommendations for endoscopy units to mitigate infection risks. To date, it is unclear whether these recommendations can be implemented in the majority of endoscopy units, because data are scarce and limited to few centers.1 We conducted this survey to explore the ability to implement these recommendations. As such, our data provide a basic framework for future recommendations.