The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on gastrointestinal diseases: a single-center cross-sectional study in central Greece.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The current COVID-19 pandemic induced a suppressive environment for healthcare professionals and patients, especially during the lockdown period. Except for the direct burden of the COVID-19, collateral damage has been identified concerning other diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of the lockdown on the non-COVID-19 patients' outcome in a tertiary gastroenterology department. METHODS: Patients admitted to our department during the lockdown period (23 March- 4 May 2020) and during the respective previous year's timeframe were recruited. Sex, age, comorbidities, presenting symptoms, final diagnosis, therapeutic management, duration of hospitalization, and outcome were evaluated. A direct comparison was performed to investigate the potential impact of the lockdown on the duration of hospitalization and the final outcome. RESULTS: A total of 161 patients were included to our analysis with 11 malefemale ratio and mean age 70.86 years. Most of the cases experienced gastrointestinal tract bleeding, biliary stone disease manifestations, or gastrointestinal malignancy complications, and 85.1% were discharged. Fewer patients were hospitalized during the lockdown period (40%), whereas the duration of hospitalization was significantly longer (7.69±4.55 vs. 5.76±4.36 days). Binary logistic regression analysis and sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the quarantine was associated with increased prevalence of negative outcomes (odds ratio 5.21, 95% confidence interval 1.66-16.34; P=0.005), especially in cases with gastrointestinal malignancy and acute pancreatitis (P=0.045 and P=0.041, respectively). CONCLUSION: The increase in the negative outcomes of common gastrointestinal diseases and the duration of hospitalization during the lockdown raise reasonable concerns regarding healthcare policies against further outbreaks.