Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: a single center experience

ABSTRACT

Background: the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on several aspects of health care services worldwide. The aim of the study was to determine its influence on the case volume, success rate and complication rate of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).Method: all patients who underwent ERCP one-year before and after applying COVID-19 safety measures at the Qena University Hospital were included. Data were collected from the patients' records, analyzed and compared.Results: a total of 250 patients underwent ERCP between April 1st, 2019 and March 31st, 2021, and the mean age of participants was 52 ± 18 years. There was a 5 % increase in case volume after applying COVID-19 safety measures (128 vs 122) and the total procedure time was significantly shorter (42 vs 46 minutes, p = 0.04). There was no significant difference in the overall success rate and complication rate. Procedure success significantly correlated with cannulation attempts and total procedure time in both groups, and serum bilirubin and cannulation time in the pre-COVID-19 patients and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in post-COVID patients. ERCP-related complications significantly correlated with cannulation attempts in both groups, and ALP, international normalized ratio (INR), cannulation time and total procedure time in pre-COVID-19 patients, and platelet count and amylase in post-COVID patients. Two patients were confirmed COVID-19 cases at the time of ERCP; therapeutic targets were achieved in both with a smooth post-ERCP recovery. Three out of nine ERCP team members caught a mild to moderate COVID-19 infection and recovered after receiving proper management.Conclusion: our result show that there was no negative impact of using COVID-19 safety measures and precautions on the case-volume, indications, overall outcome or complication rate of ERCP. (AU)