A novel mask to prevent aerosolized droplet dispersion in endoscopic procedures during the coronavirus disease pandemic

Endoscopic procedures increase the risk of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to medical staff, because aerosols are generated during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. There have been several reported studies on devices for infection prevention; however, few reports have validated them. Therefore, we developed a novel mask to prevent the diffusion of aerosol droplets from patients undergoing endoscopy. We compared microdroplet dispersion during coughing episodes when using the novel mask with microdroplet dispersion when using the conventional mouthpiece alone. The mean number of microdroplets was significantly smaller in the group that used the novel mask (57.9 +/- 122.91 vs 933.6 +/- 119.80 droplets; P = .01). The novel mask may aid in reducing the degree of exposure of medical personnel to microdroplets and the risk of subsequent infection.