Covid-19 Outbreak Impact On A Portuguese Endoscopic Unit

Aims We evaluated the initial impact of COVID-19 outbreak on endoscopic procedures from a Gastroenterology department in a Portuguese hospital.

Methods All esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGD), colonoscopies, endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatographies (ERCP) and endoscopic ultrasounds (EUS) performed between April and June 2020 were compared with all these procedures performed between April and June 2019. In EGD and colonoscopies, whether they were elective or urgent was registered. The reasons of procedures leading to new cancer diagnosis and the presence of advanced polyps in colonoscopies were recorded.

Results Between April and June 2020, 513 EGD and colonoscopies were performed, 42 % of those performed during the same trimester in 2019. Although this difference occurred mainly due to a reduction to 34.5 % in the number of elective procedures, urgent EGD and colonoscopies were also reduced to 73.2 %. The detection rate of advanced adenomas was similar in 2019 and 2020 (16.8 % in 2019 and 17.8 % in 2020), meaning that only one third were detected in 2020. In 2020, 87.2 % of ERCP and 46.3 % of EUS from 2019 were done. 4 EGD in COVID-19 positive patients were performed in this trimester.

In 2020, only 46 % of new cancer diagnosis were made, when compared to the same period of 2019. This reduction was significant in colorectal and esophageal cancers, but not in gastric cancer. The proportions of new oncological diagnosis during urgent procedures in 2019 and 2020 were 20.5 % and 38.9 % respectively.

Conclusions Although repercussions from this pandemic on digestive Oncology are already evident, its real impact is far from being known. The delay of colorectal cancer diagnosis, the second most common cause of cancer death in Europe, will lead to a significant increase in overall morbimortality. National and international programs to recover this fall in endoscopic procedures will be of the most importance to reduce this outcome of COVID-19.

Citation Rafael MA, Correia F, Branco J et al. eP507 COVID-19 OUTBREAK IMPACT ON A PORTUGUESE ENDOSCOPIC UNIT. Endoscopy 2021; 53: S266.

Publication History

Article published online:
19 March 2021