Health-code-based triage versus universal COVID-19 PCR testing before endoscopy in a low incidence area: a real-world experience

Guidelines recently recommended against routine pre-endoscopy testing for SARS-CoV-2. We retrospectively collected data from 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2022 from our endoscopy centre located in a low incidence area. In total, 46 111 endoscopies were performed based on the health-code-based triage strategy combined with two other strategies—no reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR testing before endoscopy (n=27 193) and mandatory RT-PCR testing within 1–7 days before endoscopy (n=18 918). No staff or patients were infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the study period. Benefits of pre-endoscopy RT-PCR were minor when there were no COVID-19 positive cases in the local area; we conclude that health-code-based triage together with mandatory wearing of surgical masks by staff may be sufficient in low incidence areas.