Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2021; 31(S 01): S134-S138
DOI: 10.4103/ijri.IJRI_424_20
Original Article

Where have the others gone? Impact of lockdown during COVID-19 pandemic on patient populations undergoing Computed Tomography imaging in a public tertiary care hospital in India

Ameya Shirish Kawthalkar
Department of Radiodiagnosis, Sir JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Shradha Dilip Somani
Department of Radiodiagnosis, Sir JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Rucha Prafulla Bhalde
Department of Radiodiagnosis, Sir JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
› Author Affiliations
Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
› Further Information
Also available at
  Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Context: As a response to the CoronaVirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, India announced a nation-wide lockdown effective from March 25, 2020. Recent media reports and published studies from Western countries indicate a decrease in patients presenting to hospitals with stroke, acute coronary syndromes, and other emergencies. Aims: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the lockdown on the number of patients undergoing Computed Tomography (CT) in a public tertiary care hospital in India, and thus indirectly assess the effect of the lockdown on medical conditions other than COVID-19. Settings and Design: Retrospective observational study. Materials and Methods: Analysis of the CT reports from the hospital’s PACS for the first three months of lockdown was performed and compared with those of the month prior to the imposition of the lockdown. Statistical Analysis Used: Frequency tables and percentages were calculated. Results: There was a 70% decrease in the number of total CTs in the first three months of lockdown compared to the month prior to lockdown. There was a decrease in CTs performed for various conditions such as tuberculosis follow up (decreased by 98%), brain infarcts, nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage (decreased by 40%), and baseline CTs for neoplasms (decreased by 73%). CTs for trauma also decreased by 64% with a decrease in patients involved in road traffic accidents undergoing CT. Conclusion: Our study highlights the impact of the lockdown on medical conditions other than COVID-19 in India, with a substantial decrease in the number of patients undergoing CTs for a variety of conditions.

Keywords

Computed Tomography - COVID-19 - lockdown - pandemic


Publication History

Received: 27 May 2020

Accepted: 12 July 2020

Article published online:
13 July 2021

© 2021. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd.
A-12, Second Floor, Sector -2, NOIDA -201301, India

 

  • References

  • 1 Directives for Hospitals and Medical Institutions. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India website. Available from: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/AdvisoryforHospitalsandMedicalInstitutions.pdf; 2020. [Last accessed on 2020 May 26].
  • 2 Garcia S, Albaghdadi MS, Meraj PM, Schmidt C, Garberich R, Jaffer FA. et al. Reduction in ST-segment elevation cardiac catheterization laboratory activations in the United States during COVID-19 pandemic. J Am Coll Cardiol 2020; 75: 2871-2
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 3 Bernstein L, Stead Sellers F. Patients with heart attacks, strokes and even appendicitis vanish from hospitals. The Washington Post website. Available from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/patients-with-heart-attacks-strokes-and-even- appendicitis-vanish-from-hospitals/2020/04/19/ 9ca3ef24-7eb4-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html; 2020. [Last accessed on 2020 May 26].
  • 4 von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock S, Gotzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies. BMJ 2007; 335: 806
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 5 Chest Radiology Subspecialty Group, Indian College of Radiology and Imaging. Imaging In Covid 19 Patients: Indian Guidelines Recommendations Of IRIA ICRI Chest Subspecialty Group. Available from: https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/e482ea7d/files/uploaded/IRIA_ICRI_guidlines_on_Imaging_in_COVID-19_Patients.pdf; 2020. [Last accessed on 2020 May 26].
  • 6 Kansagra AP, Goyal MS, Hamilton S, Albers GW. Collateral effect of Covid-19 on stroke evaluation in the United States. NEJM 2020. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2014816.