Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on myocardial perfusion imaging for ischemic heart disease.
Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging
; 48(2): 421-427, 2021 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-709223
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
We assessed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) for ischemic heart disease during the lockdown imposed by the Italian Government.METHODS:
We retrospectively reviewed the number and the findings of stress single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)-MPI performed between February and May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of Napoli Federico II. The number and the findings of stress SPECT-MPI studies acquired in the corresponding months of the years 2017, 2018, and 2019 were also evaluated for direct comparison.RESULTS:
The number of stress SPECT-MPI studies performed during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 123) was significantly lower (P < 0.0001) compared with the mean yearly number of procedures performed in the corresponding months of the years 2017, 2018, and 2019 (n = 413). Yet, the percentage of abnormal stress SPECT-MPI studies was similar (P = 0.65) during the pandemic (36%) compared with the mean percentage value of the corresponding period of the years 2017, 2018, and 2019 (34%).CONCLUSION:
The number of stress SPECT-MPI studies was significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the corresponding months of the previous 3 years. The lack of difference in the prevalence of abnormal SPECT-MPI studies between the two study periods strongly suggests that many patients with potentially abnormal imaging test have been missed during the pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
/
Myocardial Ischemia
/
Myocardial Perfusion Imaging
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging
Journal subject:
Nuclear Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S00259-020-04994-6
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