The EPAGE guidelines are not an effective strategy for managing colonoscopies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Expansion of interventional endoscopy and day-case procedures: A nationwide longitudinal study of gastrointestinal endoscopy in France

BACKGROUND

An accurate assessment of the evolution of GI endoscopy volumes is warranted to identify long-term trends and to help anticipate training, infrastructure and human resource needs. The main objective of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the evolution of GI endoscopy in France.

METHODS

This retrospective study consisted of a cross-sectional analysis repeated each year from 2008 to 2018 using data from a national health database related to hospital admissions. All day-case and hospital stays presenting at least one of the 119 GI endoscopy procedures were extracted.

RESULTS

This study showed an increase in day-case and hospital stays including a GI endoscopy procedure of 18.4 %. In addition, day-case endoscopy increased from 67.8 % to 76.9 % of hospital admissions. There was a 19.6 % increase in lower GI endoscopy, with in particular a 247 % increase in endoscopic mucosal resection. EUS and pancreaticobiliary and duodenal endoscopy have seen the most significant increases, 63 % and 70.2 % respectively; notably, therapeutic EUS increased by 476 %.

CONCLUSION

This study shows the good dynamics of GI endoscopy in a European country with a sustained increase over 11 years in day-case and hospital stays of patients undergoing a GI endoscopy while day-case endoscopy is taking on an increasingly important role.