A Multicenter Survey on the Trend of Chest Ct Scan Utilization: Tracing the First Footsteps of Covid-19 in Iran Publisher Pubmed



Radmard AR¹ ; Gholamrezanezhad A² ; Montazeri SA³ ; Kasaeian A⁴ ; Nematollahy N⁵ ; Langrudi RM⁶ ; Rashid RJ⁷ ; Dehghan A⁸ ; Hekmatnia A⁹ ; Shakourirad A¹⁰ ; Rad MP¹¹ ; Moghadam RN¹² ; Sharifian H¹³ ; Enhesari A¹⁴ Show All Authors
Source: Archives of Iranian Medicine Published:2020

Abstract

Background: Chest computed tomography (CT) scan has been used widely to diagnose COVID-19 in Iran. Objectives: To trace the footsteps of COVID-19 in Iran by exploring the trend in using chest CT scans and its economic impact on radiology departments. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the number of imaging examinations from 33 tertiary radiology departments in 9 large cities of Iran was collected from September 23, 2019 to March 20, 2020 (Months 1 to 6) and the corresponding months in 2018-2019. Results: A 50.2% increase was noted in the chest CT scan utilization in 2019-2020 compared to 2018-2019. This increase was +15%, +15%, +27%, +2%, +1% in Months 1-5 of 2019-2020, respectively. In Month 6 of 2019-2020, a 251% increase in the acquisition of chest CT scans was observed compared to the Month 6 of 2018-2019. Following negative balance of revenue from Month 1 to 5 with respect to the inflation rate, the total income in Month 6 was further 1.5% less than the same Month in 2018-19. Conclusion: The observed peak in chest CT utilization in Month 3 prior to the surge in Month 6 could be explained by the seasonal influenza. However, unawareness about an emerging viral disease, i.e. COVID-19, might have underutilized chest CT in Months 4 and 5 before the official announcement in Month 6. The unbalanced increase in the workload of radiology departments in the shortage of cardiothoracic radiologists with the simultaneous decrease in income initiated a vicious cycle that worsened the economic repercussions of the pandemic. © 2020 Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved.