Impact of COVID-19 on small biopsy diagnostic procedures and cancer resection surgeries in the North-West of Ireland

Aims: To quantify the impact of COVID-19 on small biopsy procedures and cancer resection surgeries in the North-West of Ireland.

Methods: Data was obtained from the Histopathology Departments of University Hospital Galway (UHG) and Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) Laboratory Information Systems to establish the impact of COVID-19 on both the small biopsy (coded P01) and cancer resection (coded P03) caseloads reported from January to June 2020, with comparison made to January to June 2019.

Results: From January to June 2020 compared with January to June 2019, UHG had an overall decrease of 714 P01 cases (21.5%) and a decrease of 152 P03 cases (14.4%). In this time, LUH had an increase of 9 P01 cases (0.8%) but a decrease of 48 P03 cases (58.5%).

Conclusions: There has been a significant impact on the provision of both diagnostic and therapeutic services in North-West of Ireland due to the COVID-19 pandemic.