Sites impacted by endoscopy-related injuries differ by sex
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Endoscopy-related injury was prevalent among gastroenterologists, with significant sex-based differences in specific sites, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
“Our results highlight the importance of training and education of all GI in ergonomics from early career stages, as well as the critical need for endoscopes with better ergonomic design to help reduce [endoscopy-related injury (ERI)],” Swati Pawa, MD, from the section of gastroenterology and hepatology at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues wrote.
Pawa and colleagues sent a 28-item electronic survey to 15,868 ACG physician members; 1,6698 members completed the survey. Investigators performed descriptive, univariate and multivariate analyses to assess the likelihood of endoscopy-related injury due to workload parameters and sex.
Seventy-five percent of respondents reported ERI. The most common ERI sites included the thumb (63.3%), neck (59%), hand/finger (56.5%), lower back (52.6%), shoulder (47%) and wrist (45%).
“There was no significant difference in the prevalence of ERI between men and women GI,” Pawa and colleagues wrote. “However, women GI were significantly more likely to report upper extremity ERI while men were more likely to report lower back pain-related ERI.”
Results showed significant sex differences reported in mechanisms correlated with ERI. Most respondents (63%) did not mention how ergonomic strategies are handled in their current practice. GIs who took breaks during their endoscopy were less likely to report ERI (P = .002).
“No other studies have assessed the impact of incorporating preventive strategies on the likelihood of ERI,” investigators wrote. “This poses a significant opportunity to potentially lower the risk of ERI among GI using simple strategies that can be incorporated into daily practice immediately with minimal changes to procedure flow.”
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