Safe Practice of Flexible Bronchoscopy for Non-COVID-19 Indications during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic
نویسندگان
1 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
2 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
3 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
4 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
5 Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India.
6 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
7 Department of General Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
8 Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
9 Department of Community Medicine and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
10 Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, India
doi
چکیده
Background: Flexible bronchoscopy is an aerosol-generating procedure (AGP), which increases the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We aimed to find COVID-19 symptoms among healthcare workers (HCWs) involved in flexible bronchoscopies for non-COVID-19 indications during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Materials and Methods: The participants of this hospital-based single-center descriptive study were HCWs of our hospital involved in flexible bronchoscopies of patients with non-COVID-19 indications. These patients had no clinical features of COVID-19 and were tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 by the real-time polymerase chain reaction of nasopharyngeal and throat swabs before the procedure. The study outcome was the occurrence of COVID-19 in study participants after exposure to bronchoscopies. Results: Thirteen HCWs performed 81 bronchoscopies on 62 patients. Indications for bronchoscopies included malignancy (61.30%), suspected infections (19.35%), non-resolving pneumonia (6.45%), mucus plug removal (6.45%), central airway obstruction (4.84%), and hemoptysis (1.61%). The mean age of patients was 50.44 ± 15.00 years, and the majority was males (72.58%). Bronchoscopic procedures included 51 bronchoalveolar lavages, 32 endobronchial ultrasound- transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), 26 endobronchial biopsies, 10 transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB), 3 mucus plug removals, 2 conventional TBNA, and 2 radial EBUS-TBLB. Except for two HCWs who complained of transient throat irritation of non-infectious cause, none of the cases developed any clinical features suggestive of COVID-19. Conclusion: A dedicated bronchoscopy protocol helps in minimizing the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs involved in flexible bronchoscopies for non-COVID-19 indications during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
