Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgery for severe endometriosis in
the UK: a national database study
Abstract
Objective: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgery
for severe endometriosis in the UK at a national, regional and
centre-level. Design: Population-based national cohort study.
Population: All women undergoing endometriosis surgery requiring
dissection of the pararectal space in the UK from 2017 to 2020
inclusive. Methods: The British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy
(BSGE) collects data nationally on all operations for severe
endometriosis which involve dissection of the pararectal space. Annual
audits of this database were obtained from the BSGE. Publicly available
data on COVID-19 deaths and population were obtained from the UK Office
for National Statistics. Main outcome measures: Numbers of annual
BSGE-registered endometriosis operations. Results: A total of 5916
operations were performed. The number of operations decreased by 49.4%
overall between 2019 and 2020. The number of endometriosis centres
remained the same, however the median number of operations per centre
decreased from 21 to 12.5, with a median percentage decrease at each
centre of 51.0% (IQR 29.4% – 75.0%). There was no significant change
in the type of surgery performed. All 11 administrative regions of Great
Britain had reduced numbers of BSGE-registered operations in 2020
compared with the average for 2017-2019, with a median 56.6% decrease
(range 6.13% - 68.62%). Regional reduction in operations was
significantly correlated with COVID-19 death rates (r=0.557, 95% CI of
r 0.048 – 1.00, p=0.037). Conclusions: There has been a dramatic fall
in the number of operations for severe endometriosis in Britain during
the COVID-19 pandemic.