Society guideline links: Endoscopy preparation, sedation, and special considerations

Introduction — 

This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Anticoagulation" and "Society guideline links: Procedural sedation in adults".)

International

●World Endoscopy Organization (WEO): Position statement for the principles and practice to facilitate complete photodocumentation of the upper gastrointestinal tract (2020)

●World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO): Practice guideline on endoscope disinfection (2019)

●WEO: Position statement on hygiene in digestive endoscopy – Focus on endoscopy units in Asia and the Middle East (2016)

●American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE)/International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/WGO: Practice guideline on radiation protection in the endoscopy suite (2009)

Canada

●American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)-Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG): Clinical practice guideline for the management of anticoagulants and antiplatelets during acute gastrointestinal bleeding and the periendoscopic period (2022)

●North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN)/European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN): Joint guideline for the Pediatric Endoscopy Quality Improvement Network quality standards and indicators for pediatric endoscopic procedures (2022)

●NASPGHAN: A clinical report on quality improvement on pediatric endoscopy (2017)

●NASPGHAN: A clinical report on developing the pediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy unit (2016)

●NASPGHAN: Report on bowel preparation for pediatric colonoscopy (2014)

United States

●American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE): White paper on quality measures in the delivery of equitable endoscopic care to traditionally underserved patients in the United States (2025)

●ASGE and American College of Gastroenterology (ACG): Quality indicators for upper GI endoscopy (2025)

●US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer (USMSTF): Consensus recommendations on optimizing bowel preparation quality for colonoscopy (2025)

●ASGE: Quality indicators common to all GI endoscopic procedures (2024)

●ASGE: Quality indicators for colonoscopy (2024)

●American Gastroenterological Association (AGA): Clinical practice update on high-quality upper endoscopy – Expert review (2024)

●ACG-Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG): Clinical practice guideline for the management of anticoagulants and antiplatelets during acute gastrointestinal bleeding and the periendoscopic period (2022)

●ASGE: Guideline on adverse events associated with EGD and EGD-related techniques (2022)

●ASGE: Guideline on informed consent for GI endoscopic procedures (2022)

●North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN)/European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN): Joint guideline for the Pediatric Endoscopy Quality Improvement Network quality standards and indicators for pediatric endoscopic procedures (2022)

●ASGE: Multisociety guideline on reprocessing flexible GI endoscopes and accessories (2021)

●American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA): Statement on respiratory monitoring during endoscopic procedures (amended 2019)

●American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS): Clinical practice guidelines for the use of bowel preparation in elective colon and rectal surgery (2019)

●ASGE: Review of adverse events in colonoscopy (2019)

●ASGE: Guideline for infection control during GI endoscopy (2018)

●ASGE: Guidelines for sedation and anesthesia in GI endoscopy (2018)

●US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and American Society for Microbiology (ASM): Duodenoscope surveillance sampling & culturing – Reducing the risks of infection (2018)

●NASPGHAN: A clinical report on quality improvement on pediatric endoscopy (2017)

●ASGE: Guideline for the management of antithrombotic agents for patients undergoing GI endoscopy (2016)

●Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC): Recommendations on essential elements of a reprocessing program for flexible endoscopes (2016)

●NASPGHAN: A clinical report on developing the pediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy unit (2016)

●ASGE: Guideline for antibiotic prophylaxis for GI endoscopy (2015)

●ASGE: Guideline for open-access endoscopy (2015)

●ASGE: Quality indicators for ERCP (2015)

●ASGE: Quality indicators for EUS (2015)

●ASGE: Guideline for modifications in endoscopic practice for pediatric patients (2014)

●ASGE: Guideline for routine laboratory testing before endoscopic procedures (2014)

●ASGE: Guidelines for safety in the gastrointestinal endoscopy unit (2014)

●NASPGHAN: Report on bowel preparation for pediatric colonoscopy (2014)

●ASGE: Guideline for modifications in endoscopic practice for the elderly (2013)

●ASGE: Guideline on adverse events associated with EUS and EUS with FNA (2013)

●ASGE: Guidelines for endoscopy in pregnant and lactating women (2012)

Europe

●North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN)/European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN): Joint guideline for the Pediatric Endoscopy Quality Improvement Network quality standards and indicators for pediatric endoscopic procedures (2022)

●European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE): Guideline on ERCP-related adverse events (2020)

●ESGE: Guideline for bowel preparation for colonoscopy, update (2019)

●ESGE: Quality Improvement Initiative on performance measures for small-bowel endoscopy (2019)

●ESGE: Quality Improvement Initiative on performance measures for endoscopy services (2018)

●ESGE-European Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Nurses and Associates (ESGENA): Position statement on reprocessing of flexible endoscopes and endoscopic accessories used in gastrointestinal endoscopy, update (2018)

●ESGE: Quality Improvement Initiative on performance measures for lower gastrointestinal endoscopy (2017)

●ESGE-ESGENA: Position statement on the prevention of multidrug-resistant infections from contaminated duodenoscopes (2017)

●ESGE-ESGENA: Technical specification for process validation and routine testing of endoscope reprocessing in washer-disinfectors according to EN ISO 15883, parts 1, 4, and ISO/TS15883-5 (2017)

●ESPGHAN and ESGE: Guidelines on paediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy (2017)

●British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and ESGE: Guidelines for endoscopy in patients on antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy, including direct oral anticoagulants (2016)

●ESGE: Quality Improvement Initiative on performance measures for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (2016)

●ESGE-ESGENA: Guideline on non-anesthesiologist administration of propofol for gastrointestinal endoscopy, update (2015)

●ESGE-ESGENA: Position statement on European curriculum for sedation training in gastrointestinal endoscopy (2013)

●ESGE: Guideline for radiation protection in digestive endoscopy (2012)

United Kingdom

●British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG): Individualised consent for endoscopy, update on the 2016 guidelines (2023)

●BSG and European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE): Guideline on endoscopy in patients on antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy, update (2021)

●BSG: Position statement on the patient experience of GI endoscopy (2019)

●BSG, Joint Advisory Group (JAG), and Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA): A joint position statement on deep sedation and anaesthesia in complex gastrointestinal endoscopy (2019)

●BSG and Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (AUGIS): Quality standards in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (2017)

Australia–New Zealand

●Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA): Position statement on simethicone use during gastrointestinal endoscopy (2019)

●GESA and the Gastroenterological Nurses College of Australia (GENCA): Position statement on infection control in endoscopy guidelines, 3rd edition (2016)

Japan

●[In Japanese] Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES): Guidelines for sedation in endoscopic practice (2020)

●[In Japanese] JGES: Guidelines for standardization of cleaning and disinfection of digestive gastrointestinal endoscopes (2018)

●[In Japanese] Clinical guidelines for pediatric gastroenterological endoscopy (2017)

●[In Japanese] JGES: Gastroenterological endoscopy practice guidelines for antithrombotic drugs [supplements on anticoagulants, including Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOAC)] (2017)

●[In Japanese] Nippon Pediatric Nutrition and Gastroenterology Liver Society: Clinical guidelines for pediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy (2017)

●[In Japanese] JGES: Guideline for clinical practice of small intestine endoscopy (2015)

●[In Japanese] JGES: Guide to practice of multi-society on infection control of gastrointestinal endoscopes (2014)

●[In Japanese] JGES: Guidelines on sedation in endoscopic examination (2013)

●[In Japanese] JGES: Gastrointestinal endoscopy clinical practice guideline for antithrombotic drug patients (2012)