The New Normal Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Simple Infection-Prevention Measure Using a Surgical Mask during Transnasal Endoscopy

摘要

The Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to accelerate worldwide [1]. Since endoscopy may pose a risk for transmission, there is a medical need to establish a “new normal” for endoscopic procedures that reduce the risk. Although we previously reported a technique to prevent infection during endoscopy, it did not completely block leakage of aerosol droplets through the hole in a modified mask [2]. Hence, we propose a safer method using a transnasal endoscope (Fig. 1). Transnasal endoscopy is widely used in screening for upper gastrointestinal lesions, especially in health check-up centers in Japan.