Endoscopy

In this exclusive video, Paul S. Sepe, MD, of Hawthorn Medical Associates, discusses how private practice has handled the financial strains of the COVID-19 pandemic. He told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease that he hopes this situation creates more awareness and drives more efforts to put the proper systems in place in case this kind of crisis happens again.

In this exclusive video, Paul S. Sepe, MD, of Hawthorn Medical Associates, discusses how COVID-19 has changed clinical practice for physicians and patients. He told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease that even patients with urgent problems are being scared away by fears of the coronavirus.

In this guest commentary, Farhan Quader, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, and Zachary Smith, DO, of Case Western Reserve School of Medicine , discuss how endoscopist s should navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four major gastroenterological societies joined together to provide some clinical insights about COVID-19 as the United States responds to the epidemic.

Storing endoscopes in a cabinet with an automated drying system reduced the time needed to dry the external surfaces and internal channels of the scopes while reducing bacterial growth, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, from the University of California, Los Angeles, told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease that these automated drying cabinets (ENDODRY Cabinet, Medivators) were developed to address residual moisture present on endoscopes after reprocessing, which could potentially allow environmental contamination to take hold on the scopes. 

Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease presents the following reports on the most recent research in endoscopy.

The FDA has given 510(k) clearance to the IMAGINA Endoscopy System, an endoscopy platform for gastrointestinal procedures at ambulatory surgery centers, according to a press release from the manufacturer, PENTAX Medical.

In this guest commentary, Tyler M. Berzin, MD, co-director of GI Endoscopy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Mohammad Bilal, MD, an advanced endoscopy fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, discuss developments surrounding duodenoscope contamination and the emergence of single use duodenoscopes.

Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease presents the following reports on the most recent research in endoscopy.

Application of a novel noninvasive test comprised of albumin, bilirubin and platelets successfully identified patients with cirrhosis who could safely avoid screening endoscopy without the need for liver stiffness measurements by transient elastography compared with the Baveno VI criteria, according to a published study.