Impact of Covid-19 on Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery: A National Survey

Abstract

Purpose: To understand the actual impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and frame the future strategies, we conducted a pan India survey to study the impact on the surgical management of gastrointestinal cancers.Methods: A national multicentre survey in the form of a questionnaire from 16 tertiary care gastrointestinal oncology centres across India was conducted from January 2019 to June 2021 that was divided into a 15-month pre-Covid era and a similar period of active Covid pandemic era.Results: There was significant disruption of services; 13 (81%) centres worked as dedicated Covid care centres and 43% reported suspension of essential care for more than 6 months. In active Covid phase there was a 14.5% decrease in registrations and proportion of decrease was highest in the centres from South zone (22%). There was decrease in resections across all organ systems; maximum reduction was noted in hepatic resections (33%) followed by esophageal and gastric resections (31 and 25% respectively). There was minimal decrease in colorectal resections (5%). A total of 584 (7.1%) patients had either active Covid-19 infection or developed infection in the post-operative period or had recovered from Covid-19 infection. Only 3(18%) centres reported higher morbidity, while rest of the centres reported similar or lower morbidity rates when compared to pre-Covid phase; however 6 (37%) centres reported slightly higher mortality in the active Covid phase.Conclusion: Covid -19 pandemic resulted in significant reduction is new cancer registrations and elective gastrointestinal cancer surgeries. Perioperative morbidity remained similar despite 7.1% perioperative Covid -19 exposure.