Cost-effective nasolaryngoscopy hood helps reduce COVID-19 exposure in ENT practice

In order to test the efficacy of the hood, a particle counter was used to calculate the average number of 0.3-mm particles/L detected during various clinical scenarios that included sneezing, nasolaryngoscopy, sneezing during nasolaryngoscopy and topical lidocaine spray administration. Experiments were repeated to compare the effectiveness of the hood versus no protection.

When no patient barrier (hood or mask) was used, a significant increase in aerosols was detected during sneezing, sneezing during nasolaryngoscopy and topical spray administration. With the hood was in place, the level of aerosols returned to baseline levels in each scenario.

"This simple intervention allows patients to undergo routine flexible nasal laryngoscopy, even with topical lidocaine spray administration, with less risk to the provider," explained corresponding author Christopher Brook, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology -- head and neck surgery at BUSM. "If a patient begins to sneeze during the examination, our data suggest that providers will remain protected through the use of the hood," he added.

While this study evaluated the efficacy of the hood in the setting of a routine nasolaryngoscopy in reducing aerosol spread, there are other possible applications but also one major barrier to overcome. "For clinical use, either the hood would need to be mass produced to allow for single use, or a safe and effective protocol of cleaning and reusing each hood would need to be established," said Brook who also is an otolaryngologist at Boston Medical Center.