COVID-19 disruption to cervical cancer screening in England.
J Med Screen
; 29(3): 203-208, 2022 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1775184
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
In England, routine invitations for cervical screening were reduced between April 2020 and June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We quantify the impact of COVID-19 disruptions on attendance and excess diagnoses of cervical cancer (CC).METHODS:
Using Public Health England CC screening data on laboratory samples received in 2018 as a baseline we quantify the reduction in screening attendances due to the COVID-19 pandemic between April 2020 and March 2021 for women aged 25-64. We model the impact on excess CC diagnoses assuming once invitations resume 87.5% of women attend within 12 months and 12.5% delay screening for 3 or 5 years (depending on age).RESULTS:
The number of samples received at laboratories was 91% lower than expected during April, 85% during May and 43% during June 2020 compared to the same period in 2018. Although on average laboratories received 12.6% more samples between August 2020 and April 2021 than over the same months in 2018, by April 2021 there was a short fall of 200,949 samples (6.4% fewer than in 2018). An excess of 41 CC (4.0 per 100,000 women with a maximum screening delay of 12 months) are predicted to occur among the estimated 1,024,794 women attending this screening round with a delay. An excess of 60 CC (41.0 per 100,000 women) are predicted to occur among the estimated 146,391 women who do not attend this screening round.CONCLUSION:
Prompt restoration of cervical screening services limited the impact on excess CC diagnoses. However, in 2020 a 6.4% shortfall of screening samples was observed. Every effort should be made to reassure these women that services are open and safe to attend.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Med Screen
Journal subject:
Epidemiology
/
Public Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
09691413221090892
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