Artigo Acesso aberto Revisado por pares

Echocardiography Abnormal Findings and Laboratory Operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic at a High Volume Center in New York City

2020; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 8; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/healthcare8040534

ISSN

2227-9032

Autores

Pang Li, Eric Stahl, Kana Fujikura, Michelle Chen, Weijia Li, Ming Zhang, Jeffrey M. Levsky, Mark I. Travin, Edwin Ho, Ythan Goldberg, Cynthia C. Taub,

Tópico(s)

Ultrasound in Clinical Applications

Resumo

(1) Background: This study sought to explore how the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected the echocardiography (TTE) laboratory operations at a high volume medical center in New York City. Changes in cardiac imaging study volume, turn-around time, and abnormal findings were analyzed and compared to a pre-pandemic period. (2) Methods: Volume of all cardiac imaging studies and TTE reports between 11 March 2020 to 5 May 2020 and the same calendar period in 2019 were retrospectively identified and compared. (3) Results: During the pandemic, our center experienced a 46.72% reduction in TTEs, 82.47% reduction in transesophageal echocardiograms, 83.16% reduction in stress echo, 70.32% reduction in nuclear tests, 46.25% reduction in calcium score, 73.91% reduction in coronary computed tomography angiography, and 87.23% reduction in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. TTE findings were overall similar between 2020 and 2019 (all p ≥ 0.05), except for a significantly higher right ventricular systolic pressure in 2020 (39.8 ± 14.2 vs. 34.6 ± 11.2 mmHg, p = 0.012). (4) Conclusions: Despite encountering an influx of critically ill patients, our hospital center experienced a reduction in the number of cardiac imaging studies, which likely represents a change in both patient mindset and physician management approach.

Referência(s)