Pediatric endoscopic procedures are considered at high risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission, as it can be aerosolized during the upper and lower endoscopy. The data on the pediatric… Click to show full abstract
Pediatric endoscopic procedures are considered at high risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission, as it can be aerosolized during the upper and lower endoscopy. The data on the pediatric endoscopy experience during the COVID-19 pandemic is scarce. Our research goal is to explore the influence of the pandemic on our endoscopy practice. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of pediatric patients ages 1 to 21 years during the first year of the pandemic and compared it to the previous year. We found that procedural volumes were only impacted in the first 2 months of the pandemic and then returned to normal monthly procedural volumes. We also surveyed personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements and pre-procedural screening protocols. One percent of all pediatric endoscopy patients tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic year. We demonstrate that the combination of pre-procedural testing and infection control precautions enabled pediatric endoscopies to be performed safely in children.
               
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