Elshaarawy O, Lashen SA, Makhlouf NA, Abdeltawab D, Zaghloul MS, Ahmed RM, Fathy H, Afifi S, Abdel-Gawad M, Abdelsameea E, Abd-Elsalam S, Mohamed SY, Tag-Adeen M, Tharwat M, Alzamzamy A, Bekhit AN, Eid AM, Awad A, Aamr M, Dayem WAAE, Wifi MN, Alboraie M. Barriers for resuming endoscopy service in the context of COVID-19 pandemic: A multicenter survey from Egypt.
World J Gastroenterol 2020;
26:6880-6890. [PMID:
33268968 PMCID:
PMC7684458 DOI:
10.3748/wjg.v26.i43.6880]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected routine endoscopy service across the gastroenterology community. This led to the suspension of service provision for elective cases.
AIM
To assess the potential barriers for resuming the endoscopy service in Egypt.
METHODS
A national online survey, four domains, was disseminated over a period of 4 wk in August 2020. The primary outcome of the survey was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the endoscopy service and barriers to the full resumption of a disabled center(s).
RESULTS
A hundred and thirteen Egyptian endoscopy centers participated in the survey. The waiting list was increased by ≥ 50% in 44.9% of areas with clusters of COVID-19 cases (n = 49) and in 35.5% of areas with sporadic cases (n = 62). Thirty nine (34.8%) centers suffered from staff shortage, which was considered a barrier against service resumption by 86.4% of centers in per-protocol analysis. In multivariate analysis, the burden of cases in the unit locality, staff shortage/recovery and the availability of separate designated rooms for COVID-19 cases could markedly affect the resumption of endoscopy practice (P = 0.029, < 0.001 and 0.02, respectively) and Odd's ratio (0.15, 1.8 and 0.16, respectively).
CONCLUSION
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to restrictions in endoscopic volumes. The staff shortage/recovery and the availability of COVID-19 designed rooms are the most important barriers against recovery. Increasing working hours and dividing endoscopy staff into teams may help to overcome the current situation.
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