COVID-19: Backlog of half-a-million endoscopies and rising

Surgeon perform an endoscopy - 'US Navy Cmdr. Thomas Nelson and Lt. Robert Roadfuss discuss proper procedures while performing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery', credit US Navy on  Wikimedia Commons  CC BY 2. A backlog of nearly half-a-million endoscopy procedures, essential for diagnosing gastrointestinal cancers and diseases*, has built up during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a new analysis of NHS England data led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology , shows the number of endoscopies being performed in April 2020, the month following the first lockdown, fell by over 90%. By January 2021 researchers estimated the backlog was 476,000, and this figure could potentially rise to more than 870,000, should there be a further full or partial lockdown and/or a slow return to normality. Clinicians are now calling on the UK Government and NHS to implement a concerted mitigation plan, in order prioritise patients in urgent need of an endoscopy and help reduce the health impact and consequences.