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Original Articles

Tumor

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical practices related to colorectal cancer and colonoscopy in South Korea: a nationwide population-based study: Jin Young Yoon, Moon Hyung Lee, Min Seob Kwak, Jae Myung Cha; Intest Res 2025;23(1):85-95. Published online November 29, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2024.00066

Abstract PDF Supplementary Material PubReader ePub

Background/Aims
Despite of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is little data regarding its impact on colorectal cancer (CRC)-related clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the changes in its impact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
This was a retrospective national population-based study using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment database from January 2019 to December 2021. The number of patients in 2020 and 2021 was compared with those in 2019 for the diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy, CRC-related operation, and any treatment for CRC.
Results
The annual number of patients undergoing diagnostic colonoscopies decreased by 6.9% in 2020 but increased 8.1% in 2021, compared to those in 2019; number of patients undergoing therapeutic colonoscopies increased by 6.0% and 37.7% in 2020 and 2021, respectively; number of patients operated for CRC decreased by 4.2% in 2020 and increased by 2.3% in 2021. The number of patients treated for CRC decreased by 2.8% in 2020 and increased by 4.4% in 2021. Diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopies and any CRC-related treatment decreased by 43.8%, 37.5%, and 11.3% in March 2020, during the first surge of COVID-19, but increased by 26.0%, 58.1%, and 9.5% in June 2021, respectively. CRC-related operations decreased by 24.1% in April 2020 and increased by 12.6% in August 2021.
Conclusions
Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical practices related to CRC completely recovered within second year. It could be considered for the development of an optimal strategy on CRC management in response to the pandemic-driven crisis.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Achievements and Future Directions of the National Colorectal Cancer Screening Program in Korea
Tae-Woo Kim, Soo-Young Na
The Korean Journal of Gastroenterology.2026; 86(2): 104. CrossRef
The impact of COVID-19 on clinical practices of colorectal cancer in South Korea
Kwang Woo Kim, Hyoun Woo Kang
Intestinal Research.2025; 23(1): 6. CrossRef

6,023 View
57 Download
2 Web of Science
2 Crossref

IBD

Comparison of time until elective intestinal resection regarding previous anti-tumor necrosis factor exposure: a Brazilian study on patients with Crohn's disease: Paulo Gustavo Kotze, Daniela Oliveira Magro, Barbara Saab, Mansur Paulo Saab, Lilian Vital Pinheiro, Marcia Olandoski, Maria de Lourdes Setsuko Ayrizono, Carlos Augusto Real Martinez, Claudio Saddy Rodrigues Coy; Intest Res 2018;16(1):62-68. Published online January 18, 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2018.16.1.62

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub

<b>Background/Aims</b><br/>

The use of anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents seems to reduce surgical rates and delay surgical procedures in prospective trials and population-based studies in the management of Crohn's disease (CD). This study aimed to identify whether preoperative anti-TNF agents influence the time from diagnosis to surgery.

Methods

An observational retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients with CD submitted to intestinal resections due to complications or medical therapy failure in a period of 7 years. The patients were allocated into 2 groups according to their previous exposure to anti-TNF agents in the preoperative period. Epidemiological aspects regarding age at diagnosis, smoking, perianal disease, and preoperative conventional therapy were considered. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to outline possible differences between the groups regarding the time to surgery.

Results

A total of 123 patients were included (71 and 52 with and without previous exposure to biologics, respectively). The overall time to surgery was 108±6.9 months (maximum, 276 months). The survival estimation revealed no difference in the mean time to intestinal resection between the groups (99.78±10.62 months in the patients without and 114.01±9.07 months in those with previous anti-TNF use) (log-rank P=0.35). There was no significant difference in the time to surgery regarding perianal CD (P=0.49), smoking (P=0.63), preoperative azathioprine (P=0.073) and steroid use (P=0.58).

Conclusions

The time from diagnosis to surgery was not influenced by the preoperative use of anti-TNF therapy in this cohort of patients.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Escalating anti-tumour necrosis factor exposure with reductions in surgical resection rates in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease: an 18-year real-world population-based cohort study
Zachary Green, Myrna Nicholas, Stephanie Vuijk, Mike Stanton, Christopher Bakewell, Tracy Coelho, Akshay Batra, Nadeem A Afzal, Sarah Ennis, Robert Mark Beattie, James Ashton
BMJ Open Gastroenterology.2026; 13(1): e002344. CrossRef
Challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in Latin America
Domingo Balderramo, Abel Botelho Quaresma, Pablo A Olivera, Mariane Christina Savio, Maria Paz Gimenez Villamil, Remo Panaccione, Siew C Ng, Gilaad G Kaplan, Paulo Gustavo Kotze
The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.2024; 9(3): 263. CrossRef
Vedolizumab does not increase perioperative surgical complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, cohort study
Vitaliy Y. Poylin, Jose Cataneo Serrato, Jonathan Pastrana Del Valle, Joseph D. Feuerstein
Intestinal Research.2022; 20(1): 72. CrossRef
Establishing a rabbit model of perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease
Shuang-Shuang Lu, Wen-Jia Liu, Qiu-Ya Niu, Chun-Yan Huo, Yu-Qing Cheng, En-Jing Wang, Rong-Nan Li, Fang-Fang Feng, Yi-Ming Cheng, Rong Liu, Jin Huang
World Journal of Gastroenterology.2022; 28(15): 1536. CrossRef
Modern surgical strategies for perianal Crohn's disease
Gilmara Pandolfo Zabot, Ornella Cassol, Rogerio Saad-Hossne, Willem Bemelman
World Journal of Gastroenterology.2020; 26(42): 6572. CrossRef
Increased prevalence of anti‐TNF therapy in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease is associated with a decline in surgical resections during childhood
James J. Ashton, Florina Borca, Enrico Mossotto, Tracy Coelho, Akshay Batra, Nadeem A. Afzal, Hang T. T. Phan, Michael Stanton, Sarah Ennis, Robert Mark Beattie
Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics.2019; 49(4): 398. CrossRef
Early Initiation of Anti-TNF is Associated with Favourable Long-term Outcome in Crohn’s Disease: 10-Year-Follow-up Data from the Swiss IBD Cohort Study
Roy Frei, Nicolas Fournier, Jonas Zeitz, Michael Scharl, Bernhard Morell, Thomas Greuter, Philipp Schreiner, Benjamin Misselwitz, Ekaterina Safroneeva, Alain M Schoepfer, Stephan R Vavricka, Gerhard Rogler, Luc Biedermann
Journal of Crohn's and Colitis.2019; 13(10): 1292. CrossRef
Are Surgical Rates Decreasing in the Biological Era In IBD?
Francesca Di Candido, Gionata Fiorino, Marco Spadaccini, Silvio Danese, Antonino Spinelli
Current Drug Targets.2019; 20(13): 1356. CrossRef

7,605 View
61 Download
8 Web of Science
8 Crossref

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