Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gastrointestinal endoscopy activity in France

Abstract

Background The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has majorly affected medical activity around the world. We sought to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy activity in France.

Methods We performed a web-based survey, including 35 questions on the responders and their endoscopic practice, from 23 March to 27 March 2020, sent to the 3300 French gastroenterologists practicing endoscopy.

Results 694 GI endoscopists (21 %) provided analyzable data; of these, 29.4 % (204/694) were involved in the management of COVID-19 patients outside the endoscopy department. During the study period, 98.7 % (685/694) of endoscopists had had to cancel procedures. There were 89 gastroenterologists (12.8 %) who reported symptoms compatible with COVID-19 infection, and a positive PCR test was recorded in 12/197 (6.1 %) vs. 3/497 (0.6 %) endoscopists in the high vs. low prevalence areas, respectively (P < 0.001).

Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic led to a major reduction in the volume of GI endoscopies performed in France in March 2020. The prolonged limited access to GI endoscopy could lead to a delay in the management of patients with GI cancers.

^* Contributed equally to this article

Publication History

Received: 28 April 2020

Accepted: 17 June 2020

Accepted Manuscript online:
17 June 2020

Article published online:
08 July 2020

• References

• 1 Tian Y, Rong L, Nian W. et al. Review article: gastrointestinal features in COVID-19 and the possibility of faecal transmission. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2020; 51: 843-851
• 2 Wilson NM, Norton A, Young FP. et al. Airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 to healthcare workers: a narrative review. Anaesthesia 2020; DOI: 10.1111/anae.15093.
• 3 Gralnek IM, Hassan C, Beilenhoff U. et al. ESGE and ESGENA Position Statement on gastrointestinal endoscopy and the COVID-19 pandemic. Endoscopy 2020; 52: 483-490
• 4 Repici A, Aragona G, Cengia G. Low risk of covid-19 transmission in GI endoscopy. Gut 2020; DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-321341.
• 5 Parodi SM, Liu VX. From containment to mitigation of COVID-19 in the US. JAMA 2020; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.3882.
• 6 SFED. Epidémie de COVID-19 – Recommandations en endoscopie digestive. 11.03.2020 https://www.sfed.org/files/files/covid19endo_reco.pdf Accessed: 29 June 2020
• 7 Barret M, Boustiere C, Canard J-M. et al. Factors associated with adenoma detection rate and diagnosis of polyps and colorectal cancer during colonoscopy in France: results of a prospective, nationwide survey. PloS One 2013; 8: e68947