Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on endoscopic activity, gastric and colorectal cancer detection rate

Abstract

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected health systems all over the world and has caused more than 3 million deaths to date. This has caused delays in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and many diseases due to disruptions in health services and the hesitation of patients to apply to health institutions during the pandemic period. Material and Methods: In the current study, the electronic records of health centers in Erzincan were retrospectively examined and the cases that underwent gastric and colonic endoscopic biopsy between January 2019 and January 2021 were identified. The cases were divided into two groups as the pre-pandemic group that underwent endoscopic biopsy between January 2019 and 2020, and the pandemic group, where the endoscopic biopsy was performed between 2020 and 2021. Results: There was a significant decrease in the number of gastric and colon endoscopic biopsies and gastric cancer, although there was no abnormal population movement and no new healthcare institution in the province the pre-pandemic period and during the pandemic period. Discussion: The findings of the current study showed that there was a significant decrease in the number of gastric and colon endoscopic biopsies and gastric cancer cases during the pandemic period. In addition to the primary health problems associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections during the pandemic period, delays in the detection of cancer and precancerous lesions due to the decrease in the number of endoscopic biopsies may cause significant problems in the future.