Keywords:
Professional issues, CT, MR, Ultrasound, Computer Applications-Detection, diagnosis, Outcomes
Authors:
F. Pellegrino, R. Bisi, D. Cavedagna, S. Leprotti, M. Giganti; Ferrara/IT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2021/C-15274
Conclusion
The Italian Government issued a strict stay-at-home order on 11 March 2020 to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the population as much as possible. At the same time, local health authorities had to guarantee an adequate level of assistance to the population, while at the same time ensuring the safety of health workers and preserving resources to face the eventuality of a worsening of the pandemic emergency. This reorganization process affected both patients and healthcare workers, and it involved various levels of the radiology department activity: from the suspension of non-urgent investigations, to the reorganization of the intended use of diagnostic scanners, as well as hygiene protocols for personnel and machinery. Following the implementation of these measures, the diagnostic imaging volume of the Radiology Department suffered a considerable decrease, and this was found to be more pronounced on the ERU imaging volume rather than on the GRU one. Similarly, the activity on inpatients, in proportion to that on outpatients, decreased to a lesser extent, while exams on emergency department patients saw the most marked reduction. The reduction in diagnostic imaging performed by the ERU, in the number of examinations carried out on Emergency Department patients, and the marked decrease in the volume of investigations for trauma could suggest that a portion of the population may have refrained from seeking medical assistance at the hospital because of fear of contagion or as a consequence of the national lockdown. These data may assist other health institution to better comprehend the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the activities of the radiology department, thus making possible more effective choices in personnel management and operational protocols planning.