IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE GASTROENTEROLOGY PRACTICES IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN LAHORE

Abstract

Objective: To assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the gastroenterology practices in a tertiary care hospital.

Study Design: A comparative cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Gastroenterology Department, Combined Military Hospital, Lahore, from Jan 2020 to Jun 2020.

Methodology: The departmental workload was recorded from before the pandemic was declared and during the pandemic. The number of procedures including upper GI endoscopies (OGD), Colonoscopies, and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreato-graphy (ERCP) were recorded. The out-patient department and in-patient department patient load was also recorded for both time periods. Microsoft excel sheet and SPSS version 24 was used to perform data analysis.

Results: We performed 34 (11.07%) emergency and 273 (88.93%) elective endoscopic procedures before the pandemic was declared in March 2020 whereas, afterwards, the load significantly reduced to only 25 (32%) emergency and 53 (67.95%) elective procedures (p<0.001). In our study, we reported that the frequency of indoor admissions was reduced by 26.8% during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas, the total number of outdoor patients was also substantially reduced from 2096 (94.6%) in pre-pandemic period to a mere 350 (82.35%) admissions.

Conclusion: The patient load and frequency of procedures has both significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.