Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures put in place during the first phases of the COVID-19 pandemic were effective in reducing endoscopy-related transmission while allowing recovery of activity. In late 2020 a novel, more infectious, SARS-CoV-2 variant (VOC 202012/01) was associated with a second ’surge' or acceleration phase in the UK. We sought to measure whether pre-existing IPC guidance would be sufficient to prevent transmission in this scenario. Prospective data were collected from eight UK centres for n=2440 procedures. Pre-endoscopy, nine (0.37%) asymptomatic patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) testing and their procedures deferred. Post endoscopy, 30 (1.27%) developed symptoms suspicious for COVID-19, with 15 (0.65%) testing positive on NPS. Three (0.12%) cases were attributed to potential transmission from endoscopy attendance. All 15 patients recovered fully requiring only community treatment. Although we report cases potentially transmitted by endoscopy attendance in this latest study, the risk of COVID-19 transmission following outpatient endoscopy remains very low. Thus, IPC measures developed in earlier pandemic phases appear robust, but our data emphasise the need for vigilance and strict adherence to these measures in order to optimally protect both patients and staff. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to extend beyond direct care of affected patients,1 particularly impacting outpatient diagnostics including GI endoscopy. Considerable concerns remain around the potential impact on detection of, and survival from, significant disease such as cancer.2 3 In mid-2020, a pandemic deceleration phase4 in the UK led to a period of intense ‘restart and recovery’ activity in endoscopy to mitigate the effects of delayed or cancelled procedures. This was supported by professional society guidance on the development of ‘COVID-minimised’ or ‘green’ pathways with NPS testing of patients before their attendance for the procedure.5–7 Activity was limited by the impact on endoscopy staff …

中文翻译：

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在英国，涉及 SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 变种的大流行加速阶段门诊内窥镜检查后的 COVID-19 传播

在 COVID-19 大流行第一阶段采取的感染预防和控制 (IPC) 措施有效减少了内窥镜相关传播，同时允许活动恢复。2020 年底，一种传染性更强的新型 SARS-CoV-2 变种 (VOC 202012/01) 与英国的第二次“激增”或加速阶段有关。我们试图衡量现有的 IPC 指南是否足以防止这种情况下的传播。从英国八个中心收集了 n=2440 例手术的前瞻性数据。在内窥镜检查前，九名（0.37%）无症状患者通过鼻咽拭子（NPS）检测呈 SARS-CoV-2 阳性，因此他们的手术被推迟。内窥镜检查后，30 人 (1.27%) 出现了可疑的 COVID-19 症状，其中 15 人 (0.65%) 的 NPS 检测呈阳性。三例（0.12%）病例归因于内窥镜检查的潜在传播。所有 15 名患者仅需要社区治疗即可完全康复。尽管我们在这项最新研究中报告了可能通过内窥镜检查传播的病例，但门诊内窥镜检查后传播 COVID-19 的风险仍然非常低。因此，在大流行早期阶段制定的 IPC 措施似乎很有效，但我们的数据强调需要保持警惕并严格遵守这些措施，以便最佳地保护患者和工作人员。COVID-19 大流行的影响继续超出对受影响患者的直接护理1，特别是影响包括胃肠道内窥镜检查在内的门诊诊断。对于癌症等重大疾病的检测和生存的潜在影响，仍然存在相当大的担忧。2 3 2020 年中期，英国的大流行减速阶段 4 导致内窥镜检查领域经历了一段激烈的“重启和恢复”活动，减轻延迟或取消程序的影响。这得到了专业协会关于开发“新冠肺炎最小化”或“绿色”途径的指导的支持，在患者参加手术之前对患者进行 NPS 测试。5-7 活动受到对内窥镜工作人员的影响而受到限制……