Has the Number of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Cases Presenting to the Emergency Department Decreased During the COVID-19 Pandemic?: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract

In the period of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was either postponed or canceled, except for emergencies, due to the high risk of transmission. Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding presenting to the emergency department and to compare it with the data before the pandemic. Material and Methods: In this single-center, retrospective study, patients were divided into 2 groups: pre-COVID-19 (pre-C) (March 2019-March 2020) and post-COVID-19 (post-C) (March 2020-March 2021). Patients who presented to the emergency department with upper gastrointestinal bleeding during these periods and underwent endoscopic examination were included in the study. Results: Endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal bleeding was urgently performed in 125 patients in the pre-C period and in 89 (29% decrease) patients in the post-C period. The Glasgow-Blatchford Score was higher in the pre-C period (p=0.02). Peptic ulcers were the most common cause of bleeding in both groups. High-risk peptic ulcer (forrest 1a/1b/2a/2b), and malignancy were observed more frequently in the post-C period (p=0.003, p=0.04; respectively). Endoscopic combined treatment rate was higher in the post-C group (p<0.001). Re-bleeding ratios were similar for both the groups (p=0.48). Conclusion: During the post-C period, the number of upper gastrointestinal bleeding cases admitted to the emergency department decreased significantly. However, the rate of high-risk peptic ulcer and malignancy in the etiology of upper gastrointestinal bleeding increased in the post-C period.