Intensive care units in New York City became COVID-19 treatment centers at the height of the pandemic’s first wave in the spring of 2020. Physicians had to adapt to a quickly changing healthcare landscape, especially when it came to aerosol-generating procedures.

Fear of catching the novel coronavirus kept very ill patients out of hospitals, or they were sent home if they were stable — only to be readmitted when they were critically ill and in need of intubation.

Traditional tower-based bronchoscopes were in short supply due to the onslaught of patients, and they needed the turnaround time necessary to sterilize them. Single-use bronchoscopes were recommended if physicians deemed the procedure necessary for airway management or disease diagnosis.

Dr. James M. Horowitz is no stranger to single-use endoscopy. Even prior to the pandemic, single-use bronchoscopes — specifically, the Ambu aScope™ 4 Broncho — were becoming a normal part of his clinical toolbox. They continue to be to this day.

“For the hospital day to day, it makes more and more sense to use single-use,” Horowitz said. “When I want to bronch, I can have it set up in 30 seconds.”

Horowitz spoke with Single-Use Endoscopy about how Ambu’s aScope platform played a key role in his ICU before and during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Download and read the full conversation by clicking the image below: