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Endoscopy 2020; 52(06): 483-490
DOI: 10.1055/a-1155-6229
Position statement

ESGE and ESGENA Position Statement on gastrointestinal endoscopy and the COVID-19 pandemic

Ian M. Gralnek‡   *
 1   Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel & Rappaport Faculty of Medicine Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
,
Cesare Hassan‡   *
 2   Nuovo Regina Margherita Hospital, Rome, Italy
,
Ulrike Beilenhoff
 3   Ulm, Germany
,
Giulio Antonelli
 2   Nuovo Regina Margherita Hospital, Rome, Italy
,
Alanna Ebigbo
 4   III. Medizinische Klinik Universitätsklinikum Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
,
Maria Pellisè
 5   Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona. Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS). Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd). Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
,
Marianna Arvanitakis
 6   Department of Gastroenterology, Erasme University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
,
Pradeep Bhandari
 7   Portsmouth Hospital NHS Trust, Gastroenterology, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
,
Raf Bisschops
 8   Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology,Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), TARGID, University, Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
,
Jeanin E. Van Hooft
 9   Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
,
Michal F. Kaminski
10   Department of Cancer Prevention and Department of Oncological Gastroenterology,The Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland
,
Konstantinos Triantafyllou
11   Hepatogastroenterology Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine - Propaedeutic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Attikon University General Hospital, Athens, Greece
,
George Webster
12   Department of Gastroenterology, University College London Hospitals, London, United Kingdom
,
Heiko Pohl
13   Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, Hanover NH, VA Medical Center, Section of Gastroenterology, White River Junction, VT., USA
,
Irene Dunkley
14   North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Hinchingbrooke, United Kingdom
,
Björn Fehrke
15   Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland
,
Mario Gazic
16   General hospital, Bjelovar, Croatia
,
Tatjana Gjergek
17   University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia
,
Siiri Maasen
18   Tallinn Healthcare College, Tallin,Estonia
,
Wendy Waagenes
19   Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
,
Marjon de Pater
20   Amsterdam UMC location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
,
Thierry Ponchon
21   Gastroenterology Division, Edouard Herriot Hospital Lyon, France
,
Peter D. Siersema
22   Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
,
Helmut Messmann
 4   III. Medizinische Klinik Universitätsklinikum Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
,
Mario Dinis-Ribeiro
23   Gastroenterology Department, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto, Portugal
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Abstract

We are currently living in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic that imposes a significant stress on health care providers and facilities. Europe is severely affected with an exponential increase in incident infections and deaths. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 can be subtle, encompassing a broad spectrum from asymptomatic mild disease to severe respiratory illness. Health care professionals in endoscopy units are at increased risk of infection from COVID-19. Infection prevention and control has been shown to be dramatically effective in assuring the safety of both health care professionals and patients. The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (www.esge.com) and the European Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Nurses and Associates (www.esgena.org) are joining forces to provide guidance during this pandemic to help assure the highest level of endoscopy care and protection against COVID-19 for both patients and endoscopy unit personnel. This guidance is based upon the best available evidence regarding assessment of risk during the current status of the pandemic and a consensus on which procedures to perform and the priorities on resumption. We appreciate the gaps in knowledge and evidence, especially on the proper strategy(ies) for the resumption of normal endoscopy practice during the upcoming phases and end of the pandemic and therefore a list of potential research questions is presented. New evidence may result in an updated statement.

* co-first authors




Publication History

Article published online:
17 April 2020

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Stuttgart · New York

Letter to this article:

Proposal for returning to routine endoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic: what is really feasible?Endoscopy 2020; 52(09): 815-815
DOI: 10.1055/a-1185-9768