Przegląd Gastroenterologiczny

Abstract

4/2022 vol. 17
Original paper

The impact of COVID-19 on elective and urgent digestive endoscopic procedures: a report on a year of pandemic in a gastroenterology centre in Italy

Giovanna Del Vecchio Blanco 1
,
Edoardo Troncone 1
,
Enrico Grasso 1
,
Elena De Cristofaro 1
,
Giorgia Sena 1
,
Pasquale De Vico 2
,
Mario Dauri 2
,
Giovanni Monteleone 1
,
Omero Alessandro Paoluzi 1
  1. Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
  2. Anaesthesiology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
Gastroenterology Rev 2022; 17 (4): 301–309
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/pg.2021.111392
Online publish date: 2021/12/08
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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19) affected digestive endoscopic activity worldwide. Resumption and maintenance of elective endoscopic activity are crucial to containing the impact of COVID-19 on mortality and prognosis of gastrointestinal disorders, primarily cancers.

Aim: To assess the impact of COVID-19 during and after the lockdown period on endoscopic activity. 

Material and methods

 The endoscopic activity undertaken during the COVID-19-related lockdown (March 2020–May 2020) and in the post-lockdown period (June 2020–March 2021) was compared with that in the corresponding periods of the year before COVID-19 in a gastroenterology centre in Italy. 

Results

During the lockdown period, there was a reduction in esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), colonoscopy (CSPY), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and endoscopic-retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) of 75.8%, 74.8%, 60%, and 42%, respectively, compared with the corresponding period of the year before COVID-19. During the post-lockdown period to date, EGD, CSPY, EUS, and ERCP increased as compared to the lockdown period (30.6%, 50.6%, 33.6%, and 65.4%, respectively), but only ERCP showed a full recovery when compared with the corresponding period of the year before COVID-19.

Conclusions

Endoscopic activity decreased significantly during the COVID-19 lockdown, and only ERCP had a full recovery in the post-lockdown period. The pandemic-related limitations and the backlog of endoscopic procedures represent important reasons for the increased risk or delayed diagnosis of GI cancers.

Keywords

colonoscopy, COVID-19, endoscopic-retrograde-cholangio-pancreatography, endoscopic ultrasound, fine-needle aspiration, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, SARS-CoV-2

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