Aerosol-generating procedure

An aerosol-generating procedure (AGP) is a medical or health-care procedure that a public health agency such as the World Health Organization or the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated as creating an increased risk of transmission of an aerosol borne contagious disease,[1] such as COVID-19. The implication is that the risk of transmission of the contagious disease from a patient having an AGP performed on them, is higher than for a patient who is not having an AGP performed upon them. This then informs decisions on infection control, such as what personal protective equipment (PPE) is required by a healthcare worker performing the medical procedure.

Medical procedures that have been designated as AGPs include positive-pressure mechanical ventilation including BiPAP and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), high-frequency ventilation, tracheal intubation,[2] airway suction, tracheostomy, chest physiotherapy, nebuliser treatment, sputum induction, bronchoscopy[3] and ultrasonic scaling and root planing. But note that different public health agencies have different lists of AGPs.[1] The term AGP became popular during the 2003 SARS epidemic, where small retrospective studies showed a higher rate of infection amongst healthcare workers in which the procedures had been performed.

COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic[4][1] has prompted research to measure the aerosols produced by patients during some AGPs including tracheal intubation and extubation,[5][6][7] gastroscopies, colonoscopies and trans-nasal endoscopies.[8] The AGPs studied generate less aerosols than a cough or even just breathing,[9][5][6][7] so some AGPs may not increase the risk from aerosol-borne diseases such as COVID-19 significantly above that of a patient breathing or coughing normally. In a study that looked for viral RNA in air samples taken near patients with COVID-19, no correlation was found between finding viral RNA, and mechanical ventilation, high flow nasal cannula, nebuliser treatment or non-invasive ventilation.[10] However data is still lacking for many AGPs.

References
  1. Klompas, Michael; Baker, Meghan; Rhee, Chanu (2021-02-01). "What Is an Aerosol-Generating Procedure?". JAMA Surgery. 156 (2): 113. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.6643. ISSN 2168-6254.
  2. El-Boghdadly, K.; Wong, D. J. N.; Owen, R.; Neuman, M. D.; Pocock, S.; Carlisle, J. B.; Johnstone, C.; Andruszkiewicz, P.; Baker, P. A.; Biccard, B. M.; Bryson, G. L. (2020-06-09). "Risks to healthcare workers following tracheal intubation of patients with COVID-19: a prospective international multicentre cohort study". Anaesthesia. doi:10.1111/anae.15170. ISSN 1365-2044. PMC 7300828. PMID 32516833.
  3. Tran K, Cimon K, Severn M, Pessoa-Silva CL, Conly J (April 2012). "Aerosol generating procedures and risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections to healthcare workers: a systematic review". PLoS One. 7 (4): e35797. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035797. PMC 3338532. PMID 22563403.
  4. Wilson, Nick; Corbett, Stephen; Tovey, Euan (2020). "Airborne transmission of covid-19". BMJ 2020;370:m3206. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3206. PMID 32819961. Archived from the original on 2020-08-21.
  5. Brown, J.; Gregson, F. K. A.; Shrimpton, A.; Cook, T. M.; Bzdek, B. R.; Reid, J. P.; Pickering, A. E. (2021). "A quantitative evaluation of aerosol generation during tracheal intubation and extubation". Anaesthesia. 76 (2): 174–181. doi:10.1111/anae.15292. ISSN 0003-2409. PMC 7675579.
  6. Dhillon, R. S.; Rowin, W. A.; Humphries, R. S.; Kevin, K.; Ward, J. D.; Phan, T. D.; Nguyen, L. V.; Wynne, D. D.; Scott, D. A.; the Clinical Aerosolisation Study Group; Yule, A. (2021). "Aerosolisation during tracheal intubation and extubation in an operating theatre setting". Anaesthesia. 76 (2): 182–188. doi:10.1111/anae.15301. ISSN 0003-2409. PMC 7675280. PMID 33047327.
  7. Shrimpton, A. J.; Brown, J. M.; Gregson, F. K. A.; Cook, T. M.; Scott, D. A.; McGain, F.; Humphries, R. S.; Dhillon, R. S.; Bzdek, B. R.; Hamilton, F.; Reid, J. P. (2021-08-26). "A quantitative evaluation of aerosol generation during manual facemask ventilation". medRxiv: 2021.08.23.21262441. doi:10.1101/2021.08.23.21262441.
  8. Phillips, Frank; Crowley, Jane; Warburton, Samantha; Gordon, George S.D.; Parra-Blanco, Adolfo (June 2022). "Aerosol and droplet generation in upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy: whole procedure and event-based analysis". Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: S001651072201731X. doi:10.1016/j.gie.2022.05.018.
  9. Nestor, C. C.; Wang, S.; Irwin, M. G. (2021). "Are tracheal intubation and extubation aerosol‐generating procedures?". Anaesthesia. 76 (2): 151–155. doi:10.1111/anae.15328. ISSN 0003-2409. PMC 7753480. PMID 33274761.
  10. Thuresson, Sara (2022). "Airborne SARS-CoV-2 in hospitals – effects of aerosol-generating procedures, HEPA-filtration units, patient viral load and physical distance". Clinical Infectious Diseases.


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