Teleradiology as a relevant indicator of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic management on emergency room activities: a nationwide worrisome survey

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the impact of COVID-19’s lockdown on radiological examinations in emergency services. Methods Retrospective, multicentre analysis of radiological examinations requested, via our teleradiology network, from 2017 to 2020 during two timeframes (calendar weeks 5–8 and then 12–15). We included CT scans or MRIs performed for strokes, multiple traumas (Body-CT), cranial traumas (CTr) and acute non-traumatic abdominal pain (ANTAP). We evaluated the number and percentages of examinations performed, of those with a pathological conclusion, and of examinations involving the chest. Results Our study included 25 centres in 2017, 29 in 2018, 43 in 2019 and 59 in 2020. From 2017 to 2019, the percentages of examinations were constant, which was also true for chest CTs. Each centre’s number of examinations, gender distribution and patient ages were unchanged. In 2020, examinations significantly decreased: suspected strokes decreased by 36% (1052 vs 675, p < 0.001), Body-CT by 62% (349 vs 134, p < 0.001), CTr by 52% (1853 vs 895, p < 0.001) and for ANTAP, appendicitis decreased by 38% (45 vs 90, not statistically significant (NS)) sigmoiditis by 44% (98 vs 55, NS), and renal colic by 23% (376 vs 288, NS). The number of examinations per centre decreased by 13% (185.5 vs 162.5, p < 0.001), whereas the number of examinations of the "chest" region increased by 170% (1205 vs 3766, p < 0.001). Conclusion Teleradiology enabled us to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic management on emergency activities, showing a global decrease in the population's use of care.

Emergency teleradiological activity is an epidemiological estimator and predictor of the covid-19 pandemic in mainland France

“…Moreover, resource organisation and structured processes, particularly chest CT, provide high diagnostic accuracy with strong inter-observer agreement between on-call teleradiologists with varying degrees of experience and senior radiologists [4]. Indeed, thanks to our structured organisation, we already showed that teleradiology enabled us to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic management on emergency activities, showing a global decrease in the population's use of care during the first lockdown in France [5]. As we observed similarities between the teleradiology emergency time series and the hospital time series published by SPF, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether structured emergency teleradiology activity could help public health agencies monitor COVID-19 pandemic on a nationwide scale [6].…”

“…4 Centre Aquitain D'Imagerie, Bordeaux, France. 5 Department of Radiology, Hôpital Nord-Ouest, Villefranche-sur-Saône, France. 6 Emergency Department, CHU Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.…”

The role of teleradiology during COVID-19 outbreak

“…This was in line with several studies that found that teleradiology plays a role in balancing workload. 8 , 19 , 20 This was supported by Martin-Noguerol et al 15 (2021), who referred to the role of teleradiology in increasing productivity in clinical practice and other areas such as administration, education, research, safety, and optimizing policies and protocols. Off-site work can reduce cumulative commuting time, which may be beneficial in terms of minimizing waiting time, reducing workload during on-call hours, and increasing work productivity among radiologists.…”

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID vaccination campaign on imaging case volumes and medicolegal aspects

“…According to a review by Solimini et al, the ethical and legal issues related to telemedicine services still need specific rules for the application to guarantee equitable access, quality of care and respect of patient privacy, data protection, and data protection sustainable costs ( 26 ). In the future the use of telemedicine and AI in clinical will be used in common clinical practice ( 27 , 28 ).…”