Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In The Gastroenterology Department – The Gastroenterologists’ Perspective Nationwide And The Real Impact In A Portuguese Center

 

Aims Several Gastroenterology Societies created recommendations in order to reduce any non-essential exposure to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. The purposes of this paper are 1) to evaluate the national gastroenterologists’ perspective of the impact of COVID-19 and 2) to evaluate the impact of the reorganization of the Gastroenterology department of Centro Hospitalar Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho (CHVNG/E) during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Methods For the 1^st purpose, an online survey of 32 questions was distributed to gastroenterologists nationwide. For the 2^nd purpose the authors conducted a retrospective analysis of some endoscopic procedures performed at the Gastroenterology Department of CHVNG/E between March 16 and May 8 during the years 2019 and 2020.

Results 67 gastroenterologists have answered our survey between April 15th and May 5th 2020, mostly females (53.7 %) and 55 to 65 years-old group was the most prevalent (25.4 %). Only 14.9 % were residents. 86.6 % worked in a hospital with COVID-19 patients, with 16.4 % assigned to assist those patients. All the departments had suffered modifications. 90 % of the residents affirmed that their activity has changed mainly endoscopic practice, and 64.2 % respondents agreeing with an internship extension. 94 % declared to have non-essential endoscopic procedures postponed. 85.1 % maintained in-person medical visits, 88.1 % were already having remote consultations and 11.9 % did not have any clinical visit. In our gastroenterology unit, the number of endoscopic procedures had decreased 73.1 % from 2019 to 2020.

Conclusions The advent of the COVID-19 outbreak has led to important changes among Gastroenterology activities in Portugal, and national gastroenterology units are complying with the recommendations. Furthermore, Portuguese Gastroenterologists believed that the decrease in endoscopic activity can compromise residents’ education and training. The gastroenterology department at CHVNG/E has shown a significant reduction in the number of endoscopic procedures performed during the same period from 2019 to 2020.

Citation Gomes C, Pinho R, Silva JC et al. eP499 IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE GASTROENTEROLOGY DEPARTMENT – THE GASTROENTEROLOGISTS’ PERSPECTIVE NATIONWIDE AND THE REAL IMPACT IN A PORTUGUESE CENTER. Endoscopy 2021; 53: S263.

Publication History

Article published online:
19 March 2021

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