Micro-bacterial assessment of disposable gowns with a focus on green endoscopy in gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures: A Japanese pilot study for healthcare waste reduction.

Objective: This study aimed to implement green endoscopy through the microbiological assessment of gowning techniques during endoscopy to reduce carbon emissions and separate medical waste. Methods: Twenty-five patients who performed esophagogastroduodenoscopy from March to May 2024 were included in this study. Four sections of the isolation gowns (anterior, posterior, right, and left) were cut into 2 cm Results: The endoscopic examination time was 8 min (6-12), and endoscopy was performed by 10 expert endoscopists, six endoscopists, and nine residents. The overall isolation gown contamination rate was 56%, with 25%, 20.8%, 20.8%, and 33.3% in the front, back, as well as right and left arms, respectively. The rates of isolation gown contamination rates in the expert endoscopists, endoscopists, and residents groups were 30%, 50%, and 77.8%, respectively, with a higher rate in the residents group. Regardless of the physician's performance, bacterial detection was consistently higher in the left arm (42.9% vs. 40% vs. 25%; Conclusions: The bacteria detected in disposable gowns after gastrointestinal endoscopy were non-pathogenic. Thus, our findings suggest that changing all personal protective equipment of respective endoscopes might not be essential. We advocate for green endoscopy to achieve sustainable development goals and reduce medical waste.