Decreased Medical Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Comprehensive Analysis of Radiological Examinations

Abstract

Objectives As a cross-section discipline within the hospital infrastructure, radiological departments might be able to provide important information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare. The goal of this study was to quantify changes in medical care during the first wave of the pandemic using radiological examinations as a comprehensive surrogate marker and to determine potential future workload. Methods A retrospective analysis of all radiological examinations during the first wave of the pandemic was performed. The number of examinations was compared to time-matched control periods. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of radiological examinations attributed to various medical specialties was conducted and postponed examinations were extrapolated to calculate additional workload in the near future. Results A total of 596,760 examinations were analyzed. Overall case volumes decreased by an average of 41% during the shutdown compared to the control period. The most affected radiological modalities were sonography (-54%), X-ray (-47%) followed by MRI (-42%). The most affected medical specialty was trauma and orthopedics (-60% case volume) followed by general surgery (-49%). Examination numbers increased during the post-shutdown period leading to a predicted additional workload of up to 22%. Conclusion This study shows a marked decrease in radiological examinations in total and among several core medical specialties, indicating a significant reduction in medical care during the first COVID-19 shutdown. Key Points: Number of radiological examinations decreased by 41% during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several core medical specialties were heavily affected with a reduction of case volumes up to 60%. When extrapolating postponed examinations to the near future, the overall workload for radiological departments might increase up to 22%. Citation Format Fleckenstein FN, Maleitzke T, Böning G etal. Decreased Medical Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Comprehensive Analysis of Radiological Examinations. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2021; 193: 937-946.