Afflicted endoscopists

Musculoskeletal Injuries among ERCP Endoscopists in Canada

“…The ergonomic room designs of all the respondents' ERCP facilities, as per sketches completed in the survey, were analyzed by a kinesiologist and an occupational therapist, and placed into two categories -'poor' (67% of respondents) and 'good' (33% of respondents). Seventy-four per cent of respondents reported having tables without Occasional breaks between procedures 15 (13) No breaks between procedures adjustable heights, 25% reported having fluoroscopy tables with adjustable heights and 1% did not know whether their tables were adjustable. Respondents were asked about sports and other leisure activities outside of work, and none of the activities were consistent with the injuries; 84% of respondents were classified as 'active' and 16% were classified as 'sedentary'.…”

“…Despite this evidence, very little has been reported regarding musculoskeletal injuries to endoscopists, and there is no literature specific to the injuries incurred by those who perform endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). 'Endoscopist's thumb', 'endoscopist's tendonitis', 'endoscopist's neck' and 'biliary endoscopist's knuckle' are all conditions that have been attributed specifically to the performance of endoscopy procedures, but no studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence of such conditions (10)(11)(12)(13)(14).…”

Ergonomics and GI endoscopy

“…1,6,7,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] After review of Google Scholar results and the references from relevant articles, an additional 9 articles were identified. [2][3][4][5][18][19][20][21][22] One article, previously published in abstract form, was included in this review, and has subsequently been published.…”

“…Seven articles 1-7 addressed the prevalence of endoscopist injury. Five articles 9,11,17,18,22 evaluated or discussed possible risk factors and mechanisms of injury. One online study 19 evaluated postures during endoscopy, whereas 4 articles 10,12,20,21 evaluated the forces applied during endoscopy, and 6 articles [13][14][15][16]22,23 provided recommendations to reduce injury during endoscopy.…”

“…A recent case report describes ''colonoscopist's thumb,'' a tenosynovitis of the left thumb attributed to the repeated application of force by the left thumb during colonoscopy, 11 previously described as ''endoscopists' thumb.'' 9,17 Although the majority of the force is applied by the left thumb, the digits of the left hand may provide additional force if the endoscopist has a large enough hand. Coupled with up-down tip deflection by the left hand, movement of the endoscope tip also can be achieved by application of torque to the insertion tube by the right hand and arm.…”