The impact of COVID-19 on endoscopy and cancer screening: a focus on access and equity

Julianna G Gardner, Lauren D Feld, Julianna G Gardner, Lauren D Feld

Abstract

The SARS-CoV2 pandemic has had a profound and lasting impact on healthcare delivery. Gastrointestinal endoscopy services were limited during the early phases of the pandemic, which has resulted in ongoing procedural backlog. Procedural delays have had continuing effects including delayed colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnoses and exacerbation of existing disparities in the CRC-screening and treatment pathways. In this review, we outline these effects as well as the variety of strategies that have been proposed to eliminate this backlog, including increased endoscopy hours, re-triaging of referrals, and alternative CRC-screening strategies.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; backlog; colorectal cancer; gastrointestinal endoscopy; health disparities.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

© The Author(s), 2023.

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Source: PubMed

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