With the spread of the new corona virus, there is an urgent need to take measures to prevent infection by medical staff involved in endoscopic medical care. A new device to reduce the number of infections was devised by Dr. Hiroyuki Endo of the Regional Medical Function Promotion Organization Sendai Hospital, Professor Atsushi Masamune of the Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, and Associate Professor Tomoyuki Koike.
In endoscopy, there is a risk of direct contact with the subject's body fluids (saliva, etc.), and the subject is forced to remove the mask during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, resulting in the subject's vomiting reflex and cough. There is a risk of exposure to droplets and aerosols derived from.Medical staff provide personal protection by wearing masks, face shields, gowns, gloves, caps, etc., but measures against the spread of droplets and aerosols from subjects are not widely used.
In addition, if the subject is suspected of being infected, the test can be stopped or postponed, but asymptomatic infected persons may be mixed in with the field of endoscopic treatment, and the infection may spread to medical staff and other subjects. There is concern that it will come.Against this background, we have devised a device that can be realized easily and at low cost so that it can be applied to all subjects.
This device is made by making a notch in the non-woven fabric and fixing it to the mouthpiece for the endoscope. When attached, the non-woven fabric covers the subject's mouth and nose, and the endoscope can be inserted through the notch in the center. It becomes a state.With this device, it is expected that the coarse droplets discharged from the subject in the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy will be captured and the aerosol diffusion will be reduced.The stress of the subject's breathing and the operator's endoscopic operation is said to be at a level that is not a problem.
In addition to the conventional protection against new coronavirus infections, this device can be a new standard preventive measure applicable to total endoscopy, and new coronavirus infections through endoscopic treatment. It is expected to help deter expansion.
Paper information:[Digestive Endoscopy] Novel device for preventing diffusion of aerosol droplets from subjects undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy during COVID-19 pandemic
