Expansion of interventional endoscopy and day-case procedures: A nationwide longitudinal study of gastrointestinal endoscopy in France

Background: An accurate assessment of the evolution of GI endoscopy volumes is warranted to identify long-term trends and to help anticipate training, infrastructure and human resource needs. The main objective of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the evolution of GI endoscopy in France.

Methods: This retrospective study consisted of a cross-sectional analysis repeated each year from 2008 to 2018 using data from a national health database related to hospital admissions. All day-case and hospital stays presenting at least one of the 119 GI endoscopy procedures were extracted.

Results: This study showed an increase in day-case and hospital stays including a GI endoscopy procedure of 18.4 %. In addition, day-case endoscopy increased from 67.8 % to 76.9 % of hospital admissions. There was a 19.6 % increase in lower GI endoscopy, with in particular a 247 % increase in endoscopic mucosal resection. EUS and pancreaticobiliary and duodenal endoscopy have seen the most significant increases, 63 % and 70.2 % respectively; notably, therapeutic EUS increased by 476 %.

Conclusion: This study shows the good dynamics of GI endoscopy in a European country with a sustained increase over 11 years in day-case and hospital stays of patients undergoing a GI endoscopy while day-case endoscopy is taking on an increasingly important role.