The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Ontario Cervical Screening Program, colposcopy and treatment services in Ontario, Canada: a population-based study.
BJOG
; 128(9): 1503-1510, 2021 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1315738
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To describe the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cervical screening, colposcopy and treatment volumes in Ontario, Canada.DESIGN:
Population-based retrospective observational study.SETTING:
Ontario, Canada. POPULATION People with a cervix age of 21-69 years who completed at least one cervical screening cytology test, colposcopy or treatment procedure for cervical dysplasia between January 2019 and August 2020.METHODS:
Administrative databases were used to compare cervical screening cytology, colposcopy and treatment procedure volumes before (historical comparator) and during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-August 2020). MAIN OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Changes in cervical screening cytology, colposcopy and treatment volumes; individuals with high-grade cytology awaiting colposcopy.RESULTS:
During the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the monthly average number of cervical screening cytology tests, colposcopies and treatments decreased by 63.8% (range -92.3 to -41.0%), 39.7% (range -75.1 to -14.3%) and 31.1% (range -43.5 to -23.6%), respectively, when compared with the corresponding months in 2019. Between March and August 2020, on average 292 (-51.0%) fewer high-grade cytological abnormalities were detected through screening each month. As of August 2020, 1159 (29.2%) individuals with high-grade screening cytology were awaiting follow-up colposcopy.CONCLUSIONS:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on key cervical screening and follow-up services in Ontario. As the pandemic continues, ongoing monitoring of service utilisation to inform system response and recovery is required. Future efforts to understand the impact of COVID-19-related disruptions on cervical cancer outcomes will be needed. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT COVID-19 has had a substantial impact on cervical screening and follow-up services in Ontario, Canada.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Vaginal Smears
/
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
/
Colposcopy
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
BJOG
Journal subject:
Gynecology
/
Obstetrics
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
1471-0528.16741
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