Quality and safety innovations in the Radiology Department during the COVID-19 pandemic: a Latin American experience.

Radiology departments were forced to make significant changes in their routine during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, to prevent further transmission of the coronavirus and optimize medical care as well. In this article, we describe our Radiology Department's policies in a private hospital for coronavirus disease 2019 preparedness focusing on quality and safety for the patient submitted to imaging tests, the healthcare team involved in the exams, the requesting physician, and for other patients and hospital environment.

Déjà Vu or Jamais Vu? How the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Experience Influenced a Singapore Radiology Department's Response to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic.

OBJECTIVE. This article shares the ground operational perspective of how a tertiary hospital radiology department in Singapore is responding to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. This same department was also deeply impacted by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003. CONCLUSION. Though similar to SARS, the COVID-19 outbreak has several differences. We share how lessons from 2003 are applied and modified in our ongoing operational response to this evolving novel pathogen.

Guidelines for Ultrasound in the Radiology Department During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus can be spread by close person-to-person contact primarily by respiratory droplets. Given the close proximity of the sonographer or sonologist with the patient during ultrasound examinations, special precautions should be taken to limit the exposure of radiology personnel to patients with coronavirus disease 2019 while still providing optimal patient care. Methods covered in this article include modified workflow, close scrutiny and prioritization of imaging orders, and design of targeted ultrasound protocols. These guidelines summarize the personal experience and insight of multiple colleagues who lead ultrasound sections or are experts in the field.

How we provided appropriate breast imaging practices in the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.

Italy has one of the highest COVID-19 clinical burdens in the world and Lombardy region accounts for more than half of the deaths of the country. Since COVID-19 is a novel disease, early impactful decisions are often based on experience of referral centres.We report the re-organisation which our institute (IEO, European Institute of Oncology), a cancer referral centre in Lombardy, went through to make our breast-imaging division pandemic-proof. Using personal-protective-equipment and innovative protocols, we provided essential breast-imaging procedures during COVID-19 pandemic without compromising cancer outcomes.The emergency management and infection-control-measures implemented in our division protected both the patients and the staff, making this experience useful for other radiology departments dealing with the pandemic.

Technique, radiation safety and image quality for chest X-ray imaging through glass and in mobile settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has led to preparations within our hospital for an expected surge of patients. This included developing a technique to perform mobile chest X-ray imaging through glass, allowing the X-ray unit to remain outside of the patient's room, effectively reducing the cleaning time associated with disinfecting equipment. The technique also reduced the infection risk of radiographers. We assessed the attenuation of different types of glass in the hospital and the technique parameters required to account for the glass filtration and additional source to image distance (SID). Radiation measurements were undertaken in a simulated set-up to determine the appropriate position for staff inside and outside the room to ensure occupational doses were kept as low as reasonably achievable. Image quality was scored and technical parameter information collated. The alternative to imaging through glass is the standard portable chest X-ray within the room. The radiation safety requirements for this standard technique were also assessed. Image quality was found to be acceptable or borderline in 90% of the images taken through glass and the average patient dose was 0.02 millisieverts (mSv) per image. The majority (67%) of images were acquired at 110 kV, with an average 5.5 mAs and with SID ranging from 180 to 300 cm. With staff positioned at greater than 1 m from the patient and at more than 1 m laterally from the tube head outside the room to minimise scatter exposure, air kerma values did not exceed 0.5 microgray (µGy) per image. This method has been implemented successfully.

Radiologist Reporting and Operational Management for Patients With Suspected COVID-19.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the adoption and outcomes of locally designed reporting guidelines for patients with possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: A departmental guideline was developed for radiologists that specified reporting terminology and required communication for patients with imaging findings suggestive of COVID-19, on the basis of patient test status and imaging indication. In this retrospective study, radiology reports completed from March 1, 2020, to May 3, 2020, that mentioned COVID-19 were reviewed. Reports were divided into patients with known COVID-19, patients with "suspected" COVID-19 (having an order indication of respiratory or infectious signs or symptoms), and "unsuspected patients" (other order indications, eg, trauma or non-chest pain). The primary outcome was the percentage of COVID-19 reports using recommended terminology; the secondary outcome was percentages of suspected and unsuspected patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Relationships between categorical variables were assessed using the Fisher exact test. RESULTS: Among 77,400 total reports, 1,083 suggested COVID-19 on the basis of imaging findings; 774 of COVID-19 reports (71%) used recommended terminology. Of 574 patients without known COVID-19 at the time of interpretation, 345 (60%) were eventually diagnosed with COVID-19, including 61% (315 of 516) of suspected and 52% (30 of 58) of unsuspected patients. Nearly all unsuspected patients (46 of 58) were identified on CT. CONCLUSIONS: Radiologists rapidly adopted recommended reporting terminology for patients with suspected COVID-19. The majority of patients for whom radiologists raised concern for COVID-19 were subsequently diagnosed with the disease, including the majority of clinically unsuspected patients. Using unambiguous terminology and timely notification about previously unsuspected patients will become increasingly critical to facilitate COVID-19 testing and contact tracing as states begin to lift restrictions.

Reorganizing Cross-Sectional Interventional Procedures Practice During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to present strategies and guidelines that can be implemented in the performance of cross-sectional interventional procedures during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. CONCLUSION. Radiologists who perform cross-sectional interventional procedures can take several steps to minimize the risks to patients and radiology personnel, including screening referred patients to decide which procedures can be postponed, using appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), minimizing the number of people involved in procedures, preserving PPE when possible, and applying proper room and equipment cleaning measures.

Strategies for radiology departments in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world is facing an unprecedented global pandemic in the form of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which has ravaged all aspects of life, especially health systems. Radiology services, in particular, are under threat of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients affected, unless drastic efforts are taken to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus. Proactive measures, therefore, must be taken to ensure the continuation of diagnostic and interventional support to clinicians, while minimizing the risk of nosocomial transmission among staff and other patients. This article aims to highlight several strategies to improve preparedness, readiness and response towards this pandemic, specific to the radiology department.

Nuclear medicine in responding to global pandemic COVID-19-American College of Nuclear Medicine member experience.

In the global pandemic COVID-19, it is important for everyone including nuclear medicine personnel to know how to stop transmission and contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Here, we summarize our American College of Nuclear Medicine members' experiences from Wuhan, China; Singapore; and the USA, so to provide advice to the nuclear medicine personnel for their clinical practice and management strategies in responding to COVID-19.

Infection Control against COVID-19 in Departments of Radiology.

The COVID-19 epidemic, which is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has spread rapidly to become a world-wide pandemic. Chest radiography and chest CT are frequently used to support the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. However, multiple cases of COVID-19 transmission in radiology department have been reported. Here we summarize the lessons we learned and provide suggestions to improve the infection control and prevention practices of healthcare workers in departments of radiology.

COVID-19 pneumonia: infection control protocol inside computed tomography suites.

A novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) causes a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. It spread rapidly and globally. CT imaging is helpful for the evaluation of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Infection control inside the CT suites is also important to prevent hospital-related transmission of COVID-19. We present our experience with infection control protocol for COVID-19 inside the CT suites.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak: What the Department of Radiology Should Know.

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia emerged in Wuhan, China. Since then, this highly contagious COVID-19 has been spreading worldwide, with a rapid rise in the number of deaths. Novel COVID-19-infected pneumonia (NCIP) is characterized by fever, fatigue, dry cough, and dyspnea. A variety of chest imaging features have been reported, similar to those found in other types of coronavirus syndromes. The purpose of the present review is to briefly discuss the known epidemiology and the imaging findings of coronavirus syndromes, with a focus on the reported imaging findings of NCIP. Moreover, the authors review precautions and safety measures for radiology department personnel to manage patients with known or suspected NCIP. Implementation of a robust plan in the radiology department is required to prevent further transmission of the virus to patients and department staff members.