A backlog of nearly half a million endoscopy procedures, essential for diagnosing gastrointestinal cancers and diseases, has built up during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a new analysis of NHS England data led by UCL researchers.
The study, published in The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, shows the number of endoscopies being performed in April 2020, the month following the first lockdown, fell by over 90%.
By January 2021 researchers estimated the backlog was 476,000, and this figure could potentially rise to more than 870,000, should there be a further full or partial lockdown and/or a slow return to normality.