Implementation of a Customized Safety Checklist in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Importance of Team Time Out—A Dual-Center Pilot Study

Background and Objectives: Checking and correctly preparing the patient for endoscopic procedures is a mandatory step for the safety and quality of the interventions. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance and necessity of a “team time out” as well as the implementation of a customized “checklist” before the actual procedure. Material and Methods: We developed and implemented a checklist for the safe conduct of endoscopies and for the entire team to thoroughly know about the patient’s medical history. The subjects of this study were 15 physicians and 8 endoscopy nurses who performed overall 572 consecutive GI endoscopic procedures during the study period. Results: This is a prospective pilot study performed in the endoscopy unit of two tertiary referral medical centers. We customized a safety checklist that includes the steps to be followed before, during and after the examination. It brings together the whole team participating in the procedure in order to check the key points during the following three vital phases: before the patient falls asleep, before the endoscope is inserted and before the team leaves the examination room. The perception of team communication and teamwork was improved after the introduction of the checklist. The checklist completion rates, identity verification rates of patients by the endoscopist, adequate histological labeling management and explicit recording of follow-up recommendations are some of the parameters that improved post-intervention. Conclusions: Using a checklist and adapting it to local conditions is a high-level recommendation of the Romanian Ministry of Health. In a medical world where safety and quality are essential, a checklist could prevent medical errors, and team time out can ensure high-quality endoscopy, enhance teamwork and offer patients confidence in the medical team

Technical Performance, Overall Accuracy and Complications of EUS-Guided Interventional Procedures: A Dynamic Landscape

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) gained wide acceptance as the diagnostic and minimally invasive therapeutic approach for intra-luminal and extraluminal gastrointestinal, as well as various non-gastrointestinal lesions. Since its introduction, EUS has undergone substantial technological advances. This multi-centric study is a retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of patients who underwent EUS for the evaluation of lesions located within the gastrointestinal tract and the proximal organs. It aimed to extensively assess in dynamic the dual-center EUS experience over the course of the past 20 years. Hence, we performed a population study and an overall assessment of the EUS procedures. The performance of EUS-FNA/FNB in diagnosing pancreatic neoplasms was evaluated. We also investigated the contribution of associating contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging (CE-EUS) with EUS-FNA/FNB for differentiating solid pancreatic lesions or cystic pancreatic lesions. A total of 2935 patients undergoing EUS between 2002–2021 were included, out of which 1880 were diagnostic EUS and 1052 EUS-FNA/FNB (80% FNA and 20% FNB). Therapeutic procedures performed included endoscopic transmural drainage of pancreatic fluid collections, celiac plexus block and neurolysis, while diagnostic EUS-like CE-EUS (20%) and real-time elastography (12%) were also conducted. Most complications occurred during the first 7 days after EUS-FNA/FNB or pseudocyst drainage. EUS and the additional tools have high technical success rates and low rates of complications. The EUS methods are safe, cost effective and indispensable for the diagnostic or therapeutic management in gastroenterological everyday practice