The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute intestinal ischemia: a big data analysis using the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database in Korea

Purpose: Several studies have reported venous thromboembolism after COVID-19. This association raises the possibility that the incidence of ischemic enterocolitis (IE) may have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to identify changes in the incidence of IE using the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database in Korea and to assess the clinical impact of COVID-19.Methods: Using the NHIS data from 2016 to 2022, we identified 2,637 patients who underwent surgery after a diagnosis of IE. The primary endpoint was the annual incidence of IE and whether this incidence changed during the COVID-19 period.Results: The incidence per million population was calculated using the total population of Korea as the denominator. The annual incidences of IE from 2016 to 2022 were 6.56, 6.76, 6.98, 7.73, 7.35, 8.08, and 7.65 per million population, respectively. Poisson regression showed an annual increase in IE incidence (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.044; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.004–1.085; P=0.029), whereas the COVID-19 period was not associated with a significant change in IE incidence (IRR, 0.945; 95% CI, 0.811–1.103; P=0.475).Conclusion: The incidence of IE increased significantly over time, but no significant increase was observed during the COVID-19 period.