Trends among patients with endometriosis over a 7-year period and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: experience from an academic high-level endometriosis centre in Germany

Lucia Keilmann, Susanne Beyer, Sarah Meister, Magdalena Jegen, Christina Buschmann, Lennard Schröder, Simon Keckstein, Udo Jeschke, Alexander Burges, Sven Mahner, Sven� Mahner, Fabian Trillsch, Bernd Kost, Thomas Kolben
Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2022 · vol. 307(1) , pp. 129–137 · doi:10.1007/s00404-022-06730-x · PMID:36068363 · PMC9449266 · W4294845204
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 2 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Endometriosis patient numbers increased over seven years, with a temporary COVID-19 pandemic decline in treatments followed by a rebound, indicating delayed but not omitted care.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This retrospective analysis examined trends in the number of patients treated for endometriosis at the University Hospital LMU Munich, a certified high-level endometriosis centre, using ICD-10 codes from routine clinical records (01/2015–12/2021) and comparing 2019 with the first COVID-19 lockdown. The number of treated cases increased over time (239 in 2015 to 679 in 2021), but during the initial lockdown outpatient visits and surgical treatments dropped sharply (outpatient: 9 vs 36 in the same 2019 period; surgery: 27 vs 52), with reductions up to −37% outpatient and as much as −90% for surgeries in early 2020. The authors report that after the lockdown numbers rose again in 2021, suggesting delays rather than omissions, though the study is limited to one academic centre and uses administrative coding for treatment counts. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it analyzes endometriosis treatment trends and COVID-19–related treatment delays at a specialized endometriosis centre in Germany.

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Abstract

PURPOSE: Endometriosis is known to be an underestimated disease. Lately the awareness of the disease seems to have improved. Aim of this analysis is to provide an overview of the development of treatment of patients diagnosed with endometriosis. This includes a special scope on implications of the COVID-19 pandemic since in multiple settings postponed treatments resulting in negative impact on prognosis were reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed the development of numbers of patients treated for endometriosis in an academic centre within a 7-year period, 01/2015-12/2021, performing a systematic analysis of ICD-10-Codes from our computer system used in clinical routine. RESULTS: Treatment numbers increased over the past 7 years, i.e., 239 treated cases in 2015 vs. 679 in 2021. Following restrictions for outpatient evaluation and surgical capacity at our centre, during COVID-19 pandemic the numbers of treated patients were reduced, especially in the first lockdown period (03/22/2020-05/05/2020 vs. same period in 2019: outpatient clinic (9 vs. 36; p < 0.001), patients surgically treated (27 vs. 52; p < 0,001)). The comparison of 2020 to 2019 showed a reduction in April 2020 of - 37% in outpatient department and up to - 90% for surgically treated patients. Comparing to 2019, we found a reduction of surgical interventions in 2020 by - 9% and an increase by 83% in 2021. CONCLUSIONS: Raising numbers of patients treated for endometriosis point to a new awareness for the disease. After the decline during the lockdown period numbers raised again, leading to a delay, but not an omission of treatment. A certified endometriosis centre with established and well-organized structures is required to improve not only treatment results but also quality of life of those affected.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19

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