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  • Triage guidance for upper gastrointestinal physiology investigations during restoration of services during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Neurogastroenterology
Opinion
Triage guidance for upper gastrointestinal physiology investigations during restoration of services during the COVID-19 pandemic
  1. Catherine Sykes1,
  2. Helen Parker1,
  3. Warren Jackson2,
  4. Rami Sweis3
  1. 1 Medical Physics Department, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
  2. 2 Department of GI Physiology, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, UK
  3. 3 GI Services, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Rami Sweis, GI Services, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London NW1 2BU, UK; Rami.sweis{at}nhs.net

https://doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2020-101632

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    Background

    The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected capacity across the board; for gastrointestinal (GI) medicine it has had a direct impact on endoscopy and GI physiology testing. Upper GI physiology investigations are elective investigations, aimed at determining causes of symptoms in patients in whom structural causes have been excluded. These tests include oesophageal manometry and 24 hour ambulatory reflux monitoring, the results of which are subsequently used to guide patient management. International recommendations are available to address and help guide departments through some of the challenges posed by the pandemic.1 2 The Association of Gastrointestinal Physiologists (AGIP) council published guidelines regarding GI physiology service provision during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.3 This guidance detailed necessary requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as highlighting the need to consider workflow changes. These changes may arise both as a result of increased time needed for physiology procedures, and as a result of new pressures on endoscopy services as a whole. The guidance also highlighted the requirement for local multidisciplinary team discussions to prioritise cases on the basis of urgency and local therapeutic availability.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors CS and RS: concept design and preparation of the manuscript. HP and WJ: critical review and revision of the manuscript. All authors approved the final content.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.