Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May;36(5):1073-1075.
doi: 10.1007/s00384-020-03816-3. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Colonoscopy in France during the COVID-19 pandemic

Antoine Meyer  1   2   3 , Jérôme Drouin  4 , Mahmoud Zureik  4   5 , Alain Weill  4 , Rosemary Dray-Spira  4
Affiliations

Colonoscopy in France during the COVID-19 pandemic

Antoine Meyer et al. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2021 May.

Abstract

Purpose: We hypothesized that the COVID-19 pandemic may have modified dispensing of colonoscopy preparations, a proxy for the number of colonoscopies performed. We therefore studied changes in dispensing of colonoscopy preparations during the pandemic in France.

Methods: Using the French national health data system, we identified colonoscopy preparations dispensed from 2018 to 2020. The expected 2020 dispensations were estimated from 2018 to 2019 dispensations.

Results: Dispensing of colonoscopy preparations decreased markedly during the eight weeks of national lockdown: 83,045 colonoscopy preparations were dispensed, i.e., 181,826 (68.6%) fewer than expected. After lockdown, dispensing of colonoscopy preparations gradually returned to expected numbers. Overall, this represents an estimated decrease of roughly 250,000 colonoscopy preparations during the six-month period following onset of the pandemic. This shortfall in the dispensing of colonoscopy preparations was of the same order of magnitude in people under or over 50 years of age, in men and women, and in those in the highest and the lowest quintiles of the deprivation index.

Conclusion: In conclusion, roughly 250,000 fewer colonoscopy preparations were dispensed during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Deleterious consequences on morbidity and mortality related to gastroenterological diseases, such as colorectal cancer, are to be feared.

Keywords: COVID-19; Colonoscopy; Colorectal cancer; France.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Numbers of colonoscopy preparations dispensed in France by two-week periods in 2018, 2019, and 2020 (observed and expected)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Weill A, Drouin J, Desplas D, et al (2020) Covid-19 : usage des médicaments de ville en France. EPI-PHARE. Available at: https://www.epi-phare.fr/rapports-detudes-et-publications/covid-19-usage.... Accessed 18 Oct 2020
    1. Rey G, Jougla E, Fouillet A, Hémon D. Ecological association between a deprivation index and mortality in France over the period 1997 – 2001: variations with spatial scale, degree of urbanicity, age, gender and cause of death. BMC Public Health. 2009;9:33. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-9-33. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blotière P-O, Weill A, Ricordeau P, Alla F, Allemand H. Perforations and haemorrhages after colonoscopy in 2010: a study based on comprehensive French health insurance data (SNIIRAM) Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol. 2014;38:112–117. doi: 10.1016/j.clinre.2013.10.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schreuders EH, Ruco A, Rabeneck L, Schoen RE, Sung JJY, Young GP, Kuipers EJ. Colorectal cancer screening: a global overview of existing programmes. Gut. 2015;64:1637–1649. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2014-309086. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Corley DA, Jensen CD, Quinn VP, Doubeni CA, Zauber AG, Lee JK, Schottinger JE, Marks AR, Zhao WK, Ghai NR, Lee AT, Contreras R, Quesenberry CP, Fireman BH, Levin TR. Association between time to colonoscopy after a positive fecal test result and risk of colorectal cancer and cancer stage at diagnosis. JAMA. 2017;317:1631–1641. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.3634. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources