COVID-19 und gastrointestinale Endoskopie –angepasste Strategien im pandemischen Wandel

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019 was associated with new challenges in many fields of medicine. Preventing transmission of the virus and infection of professional healthcare workers became of major concern in our daily clinical practice during the pandemic. Viral particles within aerosols can be detected up to 3 h after aerosolization. Recent work defined endoscopic procedures of the upper gastrointestinal tract as being aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs); thus, they can carry the possibility of transmitting airborne viruses to personnel. Because severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is primarily transmitted by aerosols and/or droplets, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is warranted. Guideline recommendations from the WHO and other societies were also modified early to include PPE as an infection prevention measure. The strict use of PPE has proven to be an effective prevention strategy over the 3 years since its implementation. With the introduction of vaccinations against SARS-CoV‑2, increasing immunization of the population, and a changing pandemic infection pattern, the requirements for endoscopic departments in hospitals and outpatient care settings continued to change. In the postpandemic situation, there are only minor restrictions that affect the new “postpandemic reality”, thus, allowing endoscopic services to be performed without major restrictions. Here, we present a review of recent and most relevant knowledge to summarize the prophylactic measures that must be taken to perform endoscopy under safe conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.