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THE DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON GASTROINTESTINAL ILLNESSES AND RATES OF HOSPITALIZATION: ANALYSIS FROM A REGIONAL INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Gastroenterology ; 160(6):S-188-S-189, 2021.
Article in English | EMBASE | ID: covidwho-1598773
ABSTRACT
Background and

Objective:

With the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various aspects of health care have been affected;however, there has been an unknown effect on hospital admissions for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases and the potential consequences on specific illnesses. Our study aims to characterize the rates of GI disease hospitalizations during the pandemic as compared to prior and any differences between specific gastrointestinal diseases throughout this period. This will be important in highlighting any gaps of care as related to gastroenterology during COVID-19.

Methods:

We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study between the months of January to May from the years 2016-2020 in a regional integrated health care system. January –May 2020 was delineated as the COVID-19 period. ICD-10 codes were used to identify principal diagnoses related to the most common GI hospitalizations in the United States (upper GI hemorrhage, pancreatitis, liver disease, diverticular disease, cholelithiasis). Rates of hospitalization were then calculated per 100,000 members for each calendar month and each respective year. Rates for the 5 most identified GI diseases were then calculated using a similar method from 2019 as compared to 2020. The rate of percent change for each month for these diseases were then analyzed during the pandemic year of 2020 versus the preceding year of 2019.

Results:

A total of 4589 (rate of 19.57 per 100,000) hospitalizations for GI related diseases occurred between January – May 2020 as opposed to 5328 (rate of 23.10 per 100,000) hospitalizations from January – May 2019 (p=0.03). The median age in 2020 was 59.1 (p= 0.27 compared to 2019) with a 51% female to male ratio. 38% of patients were White, 42% Hispanic, 10% Black, 8% Asian (p=0.58 compared to 2019 for all ethnicities). There was a decrease in the rate of hospitalization in each month from January – April 2020 compared to 2019 with a subsequent rise in May. There was a 2.86 increase in rate of hospitalization (p<0.01) from April to May 2020. There were only significant differences (p<0.05) in hospitalization rates between the months of March – May from 2020 versus 2019. Of the 5 most common GI diseases, upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage showed the highest average rate change of -20% from 2020 to 2019. Cholelithiasis had a change of -15%, pancreatitis with a change of -14%, diverticular disease with a change of -11%, and liver disease with a change of -9%.

Conclusion:

GI related hospitalizations decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic as com-pared to the previous year. Upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage showed the most average rate change of the GI diseases. Further studies highlighting the implications of these findings, such as mortality and severity of illness during the pandemic, need to be completed to assess the impact COVID-19 on GI disease.(Figure presented)(Table Presented)
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Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: EMBASE Type of study: Experimental Studies Language: English Journal: Gastroenterology Year: 2021 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: EMBASE Type of study: Experimental Studies Language: English Journal: Gastroenterology Year: 2021 Document Type: Article