Sapporo Medical Journal

Abstract : Background and Aim:The Coronavirus disease(COVID-19) pandemic has affected healthcare service delivery globally including gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy services at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. Methods:This was a retrospective study of all Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopies(UGIE) and Lower Gastrointestinal Endoscopies(LGIE) performed between February 2016 and February 2021. The Age, Gender, Procedure type and Number of procedures performed were obtained from the endoscopy register. The data obtained was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS) version 21.0. Results:A total number of 208 UGIE were performed during the period under review, out of which 109(52.4%) were males and 99(47.6%) were females. Furthermore, a total number of 48 LGIE were performed during the period under review, out of which 34(70.8%) were males and 14(29.2%) were females. There had been a gradual rise over the years in the number of the UGIE performed, with 34(16.3%) procedures in 2016 to 57(27.4%) procedures in 2019 but declined to 31(14.9%) in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. There had also been a gradual rise over the years in the number of the LGIE performed, with 5(10.4%) procedures in 2016 to 15(31.2%) procedures in 2019 but declined to 14(29.2%) in 2020. Conclusion:The COVID-19 pandemic impacted negatively on the volume of endoscopy procedures performed.