“Endoscopy Salon” for Controlling Respiratory Droplet Spreading During Endoscopic Procedure

Abstract

Introduction

Preventing droplet dispersal is an important issue for decreasing the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) transmission rate; numerous personal protective equipment (PPE) devices have been recently developed for this.

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel PPE device to prevent droplet spread during nasal endoscopic and fiber optic laryngoscopic examination and postuse equipment cleaning technique.

Methods

The “endoscopy salon” was created with a hooded salon hair dryer, plastic sheath, and silicone nipple. Comparison fluorescence dye dispersal from simulating forceful coughing with and without using the “endoscopy salon” was conducted to assess the droplet spread control. The effects of heat produced in the “endoscopy salon” and disinfection cleaning were also evaluated.

Results

Fluorescent dye droplet spread from a mannequin’s mouth without using the “endoscopy salon” to care providers’ clothes and the floor surrounding mannequin, whereas no dye droplets spread out when using the “endoscopy salon”. The maximal temperature observed in the hair dryer was 56.3°C. During the cleaning process, when a plastic bag was attached to the hair dryer’s hood to create a closed system, the temperature increased to 79.8±3.1 °C. These temperatures eliminated four test organism cultures during equipment disinfection.

Conclusion

This novel “endoscopy salon” device prevented respiratory droplet spread and eliminated infectious organisms during postuse equipment cleaning.

Keywords
endoscopy; droplet; transmission; coronavirus