ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBER OF ENDOSCOPIC ESOPHAGEAL DILATIONS PERFORMED IN BRAZIL DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Aims Considering the high transmissibility of COVID-19, health systems can become overwhelmed and the lack of resources is a major concern in low- and middle-income countries including Brazil. Endoscopic esophageal dilation is a procedure performed for symptomatic relief of esophageal strictures and may be impacted by the health system oversaturation due to COVID-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate the number of endoscopic esophageal dilations performed in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods Observational study which compared the number of endoscopic esophageal dilations performed in the Brazilian National Health System in the years 2019 and 2020. The number of endoscopic esophageal dilations was evaluated using the national database (DATASUS – Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System). Pearson’s chi-squared test was performed and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results During this time period, there was a total of 15,473 endoscopic esophageal dilations performed in the Brazilian National Health System, being 8,909 (57.6%) in 2019 and 6,564 (42.4%) in 2020. From 2019 to 2020, there was a reduction of 26.3% in the number of endoscopic esophageal dilations performed in Brazil (p<0.001).

Conclusions There was a significant reduction in the number of endoscopic esophageal dilations performed in the Brazilian National Health System from 2019 to 2020. This finding may be related to the health system oversaturation by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publication History

Article published online:
14 April 2022