Annual Report 2020
Endoscopy Center
Tomonori Yano, Yoshiko Kaneda, Natsumi Oda, Mari Takahashi, Masayoshi Yamamoto
Introduction
The endoscopy center is located on the first floor of the Center of New Surgical and Endoscopic Development for Exploratory Technology (NEXT), occupying 2341 m3, making it one of the largest centers in Japan. We have a total of 16 endoscopic procedure rooms, consisting of 10 ordinary procedure rooms, 4 fluoroscopy rooms, and 2 new device innovation rooms. We have built a team including clinical engineer, laboratory technician, radiological technician as well as medical doctor and nurses to provide the best practice of endoscopic and fluoroscopic procedures for cancer patients.
The Team and What We Do
In 2020, we performed a total of 17,942 procedures in this center; however, the number of cases decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Table 1 lists the numbers for each procedure. For their safety, patients are moved to the recovery area while lying on a bed to prevent falls, they are observed by dedicated nurses in the recovery area, and their vital signs are centrally monitored. Furthermore, we established a strict confirmation system for endoscopically acquired biopsy specimens to prevent the misidentification of patients in our center.
Research activities
We presented our system for patient safety and staff education for endoscopy practice at the annual meeting of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.
Education
In the endoscopy center, we introduced a privilege according to the skills of our doctors using the common format in gastroenterology, hepatobiliary medicine, and bronchoscopy to educate our residents step by step, while preserving the patient safety. The medical assistance technique for each endoscopic procedure is provided in on-the-job training by certified nurses. We also held several classes to increase medical knowledge regarding the practice of endoscopy. This year, the qualification exam for certification by the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society as a specialized technician was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Future Prospects
Endoscopic procedures are less invasive for patients and we can be shifted predominantly to outpatient clinics. We would also like to collaborate with the cooperating hotel to innovate the appropriate environment, including censoring for patients’ condition and developing optimal pre- and post- treatment meals, thereby establishing the next-generation practice of endoscopy.