Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

The IDENTIFY study: the investigation and detection of urological neoplasia in patients referred with suspected urinary tract cancer - a multicentre observational study

Objective To evaluate the contemporary prevalence of urinary tract cancer (bladder cancer, upper tract urothelial cancer [UTUC] and renal cancer) in patients referred to secondary care with haematuria, adjusted for established patient risk markers and geographical variation. Patients and Methods This was an international multicentre prospective observational study. We included patients aged ≥16 years, referred to secondary care with suspected urinary tract cancer. Patients with a known or previous urological malignancy were excluded. We estimated the prevalence of bladder cancer, UTUC, renal cancer and prostate cancer; stratified by age, type of haematuria, sex, and smoking. We used a multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression to adjust cancer prevalence for age, type of haematuria, sex, smoking, hospitals, and countries. Results Of the 11 059 patients assessed for eligibility, 10 896 were included from 110 hospitals across 26 countries. The overall adjusted cancer prevalence (n = 2257) was 28.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.3–34.1), bladder cancer (n = 1951) 24.7% (95% CI 19.1–30.2), UTUC (n = 128) 1.14% (95% CI 0.77–1.52), renal cancer (n = 107) 1.05% (95% CI 0.80–1.29), and prostate cancer (n = 124) 1.75% (95% CI 1.32–2.18). The odds ratios for patient risk markers in the model for all cancers were: age 1.04 (95% CI 1.03–1.05; P < 0.001), visible haematuria 3.47 (95% CI 2.90–4.15; P < 0.001), male sex 1.30 (95% CI 1.14–1.50; P < 0.001), and smoking 2.70 (95% CI 2.30–3.18; P < 0.001). Conclusions A better understanding of cancer prevalence across an international population is required to inform clinical guidelines. We are the first to report urinary tract cancer prevalence across an international population in patients referred to secondary care, adjusted for patient risk markers and geographical variation. Bladder cancer was the most prevalent disease. Visible haematuria was the strongest predictor for urinary tract cancer

Comparison of micro column technology with conventional tube methods for antibody detection

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Conventional tube technique (CTT) has been the mainstay for antibody detection in pretransfusion testing. There have been rapid technological advances in blood banking and methodology of crossmatch has been modified to improve the sensitivity of these tests and to enable automation. This study was done to compare the efficacy of three crossmatch techniques: CTT, tube low-ionic-strength-saline indirect antiglobulin test (tube LISS-IAT), and micro column technology (MCT) used in the blood bank serology laboratory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective study, 150 samples from patients who had received two or more transfusions on two different occasions (with at least 72 h between two transfusions) were subjected to cross match by three different techniques – CTT, LISS-IAT, and MCT. RESULTS: A total of 16 cases with antibodies were identified in 150 patients. Out of 16 cases, 14 were clinically significant (anti-c = 5, anti-K = 4, anti-E = 2, anti-S = 2, anti-Jka = 1) and 2 nonclinically significant antibody cases (anti-Lea). MCT detected all the 14 clinically significant antibody cases and no case of nonclinically significant antibody. Tube LISS-IAT detected 14 antibody cases including 2 cases of non-clinically significant antibody but failed to detect 1 case of anti-c and the only case of anti-Jka. CTT detected only 10 antibody cases including 2 cases of non-clinically significant antibody and but failed to detect 3 cases of anti-c, 1 case of anti-K, 1 case of anti-E, and the only case of anti-Jka. CONCLUSION: MCT was found to be most efficacious when compared to CTT and tube LISS-IAT in detecting clinically significant red cell antibodies; although MCT missed 2 cases of Lea antibody which were detected by CTT and LISS-IAT

Developing a Diagnostic Multivariable Prediction Model for Urinary Tract Cancer in Patients Referred with Haematuria: Results from the IDENTIFY Collaborative Study

377siBackground: Patient factors associated with urinary tract cancer can be used to risk stratify patients referred with haematuria, prioritising those with a higher risk of cancer for prompt investigation. Objective: To develop a prediction model for urinary tract cancer in patients referred with haematuria. Design, setting, and participants: A prospective observational study was conducted in 10 282 patients from 110 hospitals across 26 countries, aged ≥16 yr and referred to secondary care with haematuria. Patients with a known or previous urological malignancy were excluded. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: The primary outcomes were the presence or absence of urinary tract cancer (bladder cancer, upper tract urothelial cancer [UTUC], and renal cancer). Mixed-effect multivariable logistic regression was performed with site and country as random effects and clinically important patient-level candidate predictors, chosen a priori, as fixed effects. Predictors were selected primarily using clinical reasoning, in addition to backward stepwise selection. Calibration and discrimination were calculated, and bootstrap validation was performed to calculate optimism. Results and limitations: The unadjusted prevalence was 17.2% (n = 1763) for bladder cancer, 1.20% (n = 123) for UTUC, and 1.00% (n = 103) for renal cancer. The final model included predictors of increased risk (visible haematuria, age, smoking history, male sex, and family history) and reduced risk (previous haematuria investigations, urinary tract infection, dysuria/suprapubic pain, anticoagulation, catheter use, and previous pelvic radiotherapy). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the final model was 0.86 (95% confidence interval 0.85-0.87). The model is limited to patients without previous urological malignancy. Conclusions: This cancer prediction model is the first to consider established and novel urinary tract cancer diagnostic markers. It can be used in secondary care for risk stratifying patients and aid the clinician's decision-making process in prioritising patients for investigation. Patient summary: We have developed a tool that uses a person's characteristics to determine the risk of cancer if that person develops blood in the urine (haematuria). This can be used to help prioritise patients for further investigation.noneopenKhadhouri, Sinan; Gallagher, Kevin M.; MacKenzie, Kenneth R.; Shah, Taimur T.; Gao, Chuanyu; Moore, Sacha; Zimmermann, Eleanor F.; Edison, Eric; Jefferies, Matthew; Nambiar, Arjun; Anbarasan, Thineskrishna; Mannas, Miles P.; Lee, Taeweon; Marra, Giancarlo; Gómez Rivas, Juan; Marcq, Gautier; Assmus, Mark A.; Uçar, Taha; Claps, Francesco; Boltri, Matteo; La Montagna, Giuseppe; Burnhope, Tara; Nkwam, Nkwam; Austin, Tomas; Boxall, Nicholas E.; Downey, Alison P.; Sukhu, Troy A.; Antón-Juanilla, Marta; Rai, Sonpreet; Chin, Yew-Fung; Moore, Madeline; Drake, Tamsin; Green, James S.A.; Goulao, Beatriz; MacLennan, Graeme; Nielsen, Matthew; McGrath, John S.; Kasivisvanathan, Veeru; Chaudry, Aasem; Sharma, Abhishek; Bennett, Adam; Ahmad, Adnan; Abroaf, Ahmed; Suliman, Ahmed Musa; Lloyd, Aimee; McKay, Alastair; Wong, Albert; Silva, Alberto; Schneider, Alexandre; MacKay, Alison; Knight, Allen; Grigorakis, Alkiviadis; Bdesha, Amar; Nagle, Amy; Cebola, Ana; Dhanasekaran, Ananda Kumar; Kondža, Andraž; Barcelos, André; Galosi, Andrea Benedetto; Ebur, Andrea; Minervini, Andrea; Russell, Andrew; Webb, Andrew; de Jalón, Ángel García; Desai, Ankit; Czech, Anna Katarzyna; Mainwaring, Anna; Adimonye, Anthony; Das, Arighno; Figueiredo, Arnaldo; Villers, Arnauld; Leminski, Artur; Chippagiri, Arvinda; Lal, Asim Ahmed; Yıldırım, Asıf; Voulgaris, Athanasios Marios; Uzan, Audrey; Oo, Aye Moh Moh; Younis, Ayman; Zelhof, Bachar; Mukhtar, Bashir; Ayres, Ben; Challacombe, Ben; Sherwood, Benedict; Ristau, Benjamin; Lai, Billy; Nellensteijn, Brechtje; Schreiter, Brielle; Trombetta, Carlo; Dowling, Catherine; Hobbs, Catherine; Benitez, Cayo Augusto Estigarribia; Lebacle, Cédric; Ho, Cherrie Wing Yin; Ng, Chi-Fai; Mount, Chloe; Lam, Chon Meng; Blick, Chris; Brown, Christian; Gallegos, Christopher; Higgs, Claire; Browne, Clíodhna; McCann, Conor; Plaza Alonso, Cristina; Beder, Daniel; Cohen, Daniel; Gordon, Daniel; Wilby, Daniel; Gordon, Danny; Hrouda, David; Lau, David Hua Wu; Karsza, Dávid; Mak, David; Martin-Way, David; Suthaharan, Denula; Patel, Dhruv; Carrion, Diego M; Nyanhongo, Donald; Bass, Edward; Mains, Edward; Chau, Edwin; Canelon Castillo, Elba; Day, Elizabeth; Desouky, Elsayed; Gaines, Emily; Papworth, Emma; Yuruk, Emrah; Kilic, Enes; Dinneen, Eoin; Palagonia, Erika; Xylinas, Evanguelos; Khawaja, Faizan; Cimarra, Fernando; Bardet, Florian; Kum, Francesca; Peters, Francesca; Kovács, Gábor; Tanasescu, Geroge; Hellawell, Giles; Tasso, Giovanni; Lam, Gitte; La Montagna, Giuseppe; Pizzuto, Giuseppe; Lenart, Gordan; MacLennan, Graeme; Özgür, Günal; Bi, Hai; Lyons, Hannah; Warren, Hannah; Ahmed, Hashim; Simpson, Helen; Burden, Helena; Gresty, Helena; Rios Pita, Hernado; Clarke, Holly; Serag, Hosam; Kynaston, Howard; Crawford-Smith, Hugh; Mostafid, Hugh; Otaola-Arca, Hugo; Koo, Hui Fen; Ibrahim, Ibrahim; Ouzaid, Idir; Puche-Sanz, Ignacio; Tomašković, Igor; Tinay, Ilker; Sahibzada, Iqbal; Thangasamy, Isaac; Cadena, Iván Revelo; Irani, Jacques; Udzik, Jakub; Brittain, James; Catto, James; Green, James; Tweedle, James; Hernando, Jamie Borrego; Leask, Jamie; Kalsi, Jas; Frankel, Jason; Toniolo, Jason; Raman, Jay D.; Courcier, Jean; Kumaradeevan, Jeevan; Clark, Jennifer; Jones, Jennifer; Teoh, Jeremy Yuen-Chun; Iacovou, John; Kelly, John; Selph, John P.; Aning, Jonathan; Deeks, Jon; Cobley, Jonathan; Olivier, Jonathan; Maw, Jonny; Herranz-Yagüe, José Antonio; Nolazco, Jose Ignacio; Cózar-Olmo, Jose Manuel; Bagley, Joseph; Jelski, Joseph; Norris, Joseph; Testa, Joseph; Meeks, Joshua; Hernandez, Juan; Vásquez, Juan Luis; Randhawa, Karen; Dhera, Karishma; Gronostaj, Katarzyna; Houlton, Kathleen; Lehman, Kathleen; Gillams, Kathryn; Adasonla, Kelvin; Brown, Kevin; Murtagh, Kevin; Mistry, Kiki; Davenport, Kim; Kitamura, Kosuke; Derbyshire, Laura; Clarke, Laurence; Morton, Lawrie; Martinez, Levin; Goldsmith, Louise; Paramore, Louise; Cormier, Luc; Dell'Atti, Lucio; Simmons, Lucy; Martinez-Piñeiro, Luis; Rico, Luis; Chan, Luke; Forster, Luke; Ma, Lulin; Moore, Madeline; Gallego, Maria Camacho; Freire, Maria José; Emberton, Mark; Feneley, Mark; Antón-Juanilla, Marta; Rivero, Marta Viridiana Muñoz; Pirša, Matea; Tallè, Matteo; Crockett, Matthew; Liew, Matthew; Trail, Matthew; Peters, Max; Cooper, Meghan; Kulkarni, Meghana; Ager, Michael; He, Ming; Li, Mo; Omran Breish, Mohamed; Tarin, Mohamed; Aldiwani, Mohammed; Matanhelia, Mudit; Pasha, Muhammad; Akalın, Mustafa Kaan; Abdullah, Nasreen; Hale, Nathan; Gadiyar, Neha; Kocher, Neil; Bullock, Nicholas; Campain, Nicholas; Pavan, Nicola; Al-Ibraheem, Nihad; Bhatt, Nikita; Bedi, Nishant; Shrotri, Nitin; Lobo, Niyati; Balderas, Olga; Kouli, Omar; Capoun, Otakar; Oteo Manjavacas, Pablo; Gontero, Paolo; Mariappan, Paramananthan; Marchiñena, Patricio Garcia; Erotocritou, Paul; Sweeney, Paul; Planelles, Paula; Acher, Peter; Black, Peter C.; Osei-Bonsu, Peter K; Østergren, Peter; Smith, Peter; Willemse, Peter-Paul Michiel; Chlosta, Piotr L.; Ul Ain, Qurrat; Barratt, Rachel; Esler, Rachel; Khalid, Raihan; Hsu, Ray; Stamirowski, Remigiusz; Mangat, Reshma; Cruz, Ricardo; Ellis, Ricky; Adams, Robert; Hessell, Robert; Oomen, Robert J.A.; McConkey, Robert; Ritchie, Robert; Jarimba, Roberto; Chahal, Rohit; Andres, Rosado Mario; Hawkins, Rosalyn; David, Rotimi; Manecksha, Rustom P.; Agrawal, Sachin; Hamid, Syed Sami; Deem, Samuel; Goonewardene, Sanchia; Swami, Satchi Kuchibhotla; Hori, Satoshi; Khan, Shahid; Mohammud Inder, Shakeel; Sangaralingam, Shanthi; Marathe, Shekhar; Raveenthiran, Sheliyan; Horie, Shigeo; Sengupta, Shomik; Parson, Sian; Parker, Sidney; Hawlina, Simon; Williams, Simon; Mazzoli, Simone; Grzegorz Kata, Slawomir; Pinheiro Lopes, Sofia; Ramos, Sónia; Rai, Sonpreet; Rintoul-Hoad, Sophie; O'Meara, Sorcha; Morris, Steve; Turner, Stacey; Venturini, Stefano; Almpanis, Stephanos; Joniau, Steven; Jain, Sunjay; Mallett, Susan; Nikles, Sven; Shahzad, null; Yan, Sylvia; Lee, Taeweon; Uçar, Taha; Drake, Tamsin; Toma, Tarq; Cabañuz Plo, Teresa; Bonnin, Thierry; Muilwijk, Tim; Wollin, Tim; Chu, Timothy Shun Man; Appanna, Timson; Brophy, Tom; Ellul, Tom; Austin, Tomas; Smrkolj, Tomaž; Rowe, Tracey; Sukhu, Troy; Patel, Trushar; Garg, Tullika; Çaşkurlu, Turhan; Bele, Uros; Haroon, Usman; Crespo-Atín, Víctor; Parejo Cortes, Victor; Capapé Poves, Victoria; Gnanapragasam, Vincent; Gauhar, Vineet; During, Vinnie; Kumar, Vivek; Fiala, Vojtech; Mahmalji, Wasim; Lam, Wayne; Fung Chin, Yew; Filtekin, Yigit; Chyn Phan, Yih; Ibrahim, Youssed; Glaser, Zachary A; Abiddin, Zainal Adwin; Qin, Zijian; Zotter, Zsuzsanna; Zainuddin, ZulkifliKhadhouri, Sinan; Gallagher, Kevin M.; Mackenzie, Kenneth R.; Shah, Taimur T.; Gao, Chuanyu; Moore, Sacha; Zimmermann, Eleanor F.; Edison, Eric; Jefferies, Matthew; Nambiar, Arjun; Anbarasan, Thineskrishna; Mannas, Miles P.; Lee, Taeweon; Marra, Giancarlo; Gómez Rivas, Juan; Marcq, Gautier; Assmus, Mark A.; Uçar, Taha; Claps, Francesco; Boltri, Matteo; La Montagna, Giuseppe; Burnhope, Tara; Nkwam, Nkwam; Austin, Tomas; Boxall, Nicholas E.; Downey, Alison P.; Sukhu, Troy A.; Antón-Juanilla, Marta; Rai, Sonpreet; Chin, Yew-Fung; Moore, Madeline; Drake, Tamsin; Green, James S. A.; Goulao, Beatriz; Maclennan, Graeme; Nielsen, Matthew; Mcgrath, John S.; Kasivisvanathan, Veeru; Chaudry, Aasem; Sharma, Abhishek; Bennett, Adam; Ahmad, Adnan; Abroaf, Ahmed; Suliman, Ahmed Musa; Lloyd, Aimee; Mckay, Alastair; Wong, Albert; Silva, Alberto; Schneider, Alexandre; Mackay, Alison; Knight, Allen; Grigorakis, Alkiviadis; Bdesha, Amar; Nagle, Amy; Cebola, Ana; Dhanasekaran, Ananda Kumar; Kondža, Andraž; Barcelos, André; Galosi, Andrea Benedetto; Ebur, Andrea; Minervini, Andrea; Russell, Andrew; Webb, Andrew; de Jalón, Ángel García; Desai, Ankit; Czech, Anna Katarzyna; Mainwaring, Anna; Adimonye, Anthony; Das, Arighno; Figueiredo, Arnaldo; Villers, Arnauld; Leminski, Artur; Chippagiri, Arvinda; Lal, Asim Ahmed; Yıldırım, Asıf; Voulgaris, Athanasios Marios; Uzan, Audrey; Oo, Aye Moh Moh; Younis, Ayman; Zelhof, Bachar; Mukhtar, Bashir; Ayres, Ben; Challacombe, Ben; Sherwood, Benedict; Ristau, Benjamin; Lai, Billy; Nellensteijn, Brechtje; Schreiter, Brielle; Trombetta, Carlo; Dowling, Catherine; Hobbs, Catherine; Benitez, Cayo Augusto Estigarribia; Lebacle, Cédric; Ho, Cherrie Wing Yin; Ng, Chi-Fai; Mount, Chloe; Lam, Chon Meng; Blick, Chris; Brown, Christian; Gallegos, Christopher; Higgs, Claire; Browne, Clíodhna; Mccann, Conor; Plaza Alonso, Cristina; Beder, Daniel; Cohen, Daniel; Gordon, Daniel; Wilby, Daniel; Gordon, Danny; Hrouda, David; Lau, David Hua Wu; Karsza, Dávid; Mak, David; Martin-Way, David; Suthaharan, Denula; Patel, Dhruv; Carrion, Diego M; Nyanhongo, Donald; Bass, Edward; Mains, Edward; Chau, Edwin; Canelon Castillo, Elba; Day, Elizabeth; Desouky, Elsayed; Gaines, Emily; Papworth, Emma; Yuruk, Emrah; Kilic, Enes; Dinneen, Eoin; Palagonia, Erika; Xylinas, Evanguelos; Khawaja, Faizan; Cimarra, Fernando; Bardet, Florian; Kum, Francesca; Peters, Francesca; Kovács, Gábor; Tanasescu, Geroge; Hellawell, Giles; Tasso, Giovanni; Lam, Gitte; La Montagna, Giuseppe; Pizzuto, Giuseppe; Lenart, Gordan; Maclennan, Graeme; Özgür, Günal; Bi, Hai; Lyons, Hannah; Warren, Hannah; Ahmed, Hashim; Simpson, Helen; Burden, Helena; Gresty, Helena; Rios Pita, Hernado; Clarke, Holly; Serag, Hosam; Kynaston, Howard; Crawford-Smith, Hugh; Mostafid, Hugh; Otaola-Arca, Hugo; Koo, Hui Fen; Ibrahim, Ibrahim; Ouzaid, Idir; Puche-Sanz, Ignacio; Tomašković, Igor; Tinay, Ilker; Sahibzada, Iqbal; Thangasamy, Isaac; Cadena, Iván Revelo; Irani, Jacques; Udzik, Jakub; Brittain, James; Catto, James; Green, James; Tweedle, James; Hernando, Jamie Borrego; Leask, Jamie; Kalsi, Jas; Frankel, Jason; Toniolo, Jason; Raman, Jay D.; Courcier, Jean; Kumaradeevan, Jeevan; Clark, Jennifer; Jones, Jennifer; Teoh, Jeremy Yuen-Chun; Iacovou, John; Kelly, John; Selph, John P.; Aning, Jonathan; Deeks, Jon; Cobley, Jonathan; Olivier, Jonathan; Maw, Jonny; Herranz-Yagüe, José Antonio; Nolazco, Jose Ignacio; Cózar-Olmo, Jose Manuel; Bagley, Joseph; Jelski, Joseph; Norris, Joseph; Testa, Joseph; Meeks, Joshua; Hernandez, Juan; Vásquez, Juan Luis; Randhawa, Karen; Dhera, Karishma; Gronostaj, Katarzyna; Houlton, Kathleen; Lehman, Kathleen; Gillams, Kathryn; Adasonla, Kelvin; Brown, Kevin; Murtagh, Kevin; Mistry, Kiki; Davenport, Kim; Kitamura, Kosuke; Derbyshire, Laura; Clarke, Laurence; Morton, Lawrie; Martinez, Levin; Goldsmith, Louise; Paramore, Louise; Cormier, Luc; Dell'Atti, Lucio; Simmons, Lucy; Martinez-Piñeiro, Luis; Rico, Luis; Chan, Luke; Forster, Luke; Ma, Lulin; Moore, Madeline; Gallego, Maria Camacho; Freire, Maria José; Emberton, Mark; Feneley, Mark; Antón-Juanilla, Marta; Rivero, Marta Viridiana Muñoz; Pirša, Matea; Tallè, Matteo; Crockett, Matthew; Liew, Matthew; Trail, Matthew; Peters, Max; Cooper, Meghan; Kulkarni, Meghana; Ager, Michael; He, Ming; Li, Mo; Omran Breish, Mohamed; Tarin, Mohamed; Aldiwani, Mohammed; Matanhelia, Mudit; Pasha, Muhammad; Akalın, Mustafa Kaan; Abdullah, Nasreen; Hale, Nathan; Gadiyar, Neha; Kocher, Neil; Bullock, Nicholas; Campain, Nicholas; Pavan, Nicola; Al-Ibraheem, Nihad; Bhatt, Nikita; Bedi, Nishant; Shrotri, Nitin; Lobo, Niyati; Balderas, Olga; Kouli, Omar; Capoun, Otakar; Oteo Manjavacas, Pablo; Gontero, Paolo; Mariappan, Paramananthan; Marchiñena, Patricio Garcia; Erotocritou, Paul; Sweeney, Paul; Planelles, Paula; Acher, Peter; Black, Peter C.; Osei-Bonsu, Peter K; Østergren, Peter; Smith, Peter; Willemse, Peter-Paul Michiel; Chlosta, Piotr L.; Ul Ain, Qurrat; Barratt, Rachel; Esler, Rachel; Khalid, Raihan; Hsu, Ray; Stamirowski, Remigiusz; Mangat, Reshma; Cruz, Ricardo; Ellis, Ricky; Adams, Robert; Hessell, Robert; Oomen, Robert J. A.; Mcconkey, Robert; Ritchie, Robert; Jarimba, Roberto; Chahal, Rohit; Andres, Rosado Mario; Hawkins, Rosalyn; David, Rotimi; Manecksha, Rustom P.; Agrawal, Sachin; Hamid, Syed Sami; Deem, Samuel; Goonewardene, Sanchia; Swami, Satchi Kuchibhotla; Hori, Satoshi; Khan, Shahid; Mohammud Inder, Shakeel; Sangaralingam, Shanthi; Marathe, Shekhar; Raveenthiran, Sheliyan; Horie, Shigeo; Sengupta, Shomik; Parson, Sian; Parker, Sidney; Hawlina, Simon; Williams, Simon; Mazzoli, Simone; Grzegorz Kata, Slawomir; Pinheiro Lopes, Sofia; Ramos, Sónia; Rai, Sonpreet; Rintoul-Hoad, Sophie; O'Meara, Sorcha; Morris, Steve; Turner, Stacey; Venturini, Stefano; Almpanis, Stephanos; Joniau, Steven; Jain, Sunjay; Mallett, Susan; Nikles, Sven; Shahzad, Null; Yan, Sylvia; Lee, Taeweon; Uçar, Taha; Drake, Tamsin; Toma, Tarq; Cabañuz Plo, Teresa; Bonnin, Thierry; Muilwijk, Tim; Wollin, Tim; Chu, Timothy Shun Man; Appanna, Timson; Brophy, Tom; Ellul, Tom; Austin, Tomas; Smrkolj, Tomaž; Rowe, Tracey; Sukhu, Troy; Patel, Trushar; Garg, Tullika; Çaşkurlu, Turhan; Bele, Uros; Haroon, Usman; Crespo-Atín, Víctor; Parejo Cortes, Victor; Capapé Poves, Victoria; Gnanapragasam, Vincent; Gauhar, Vineet; During, Vinnie; Kumar, Vivek; Fiala, Vojtech; Mahmalji, Wasim; Lam, Wayne; Fung Chin, Yew; Filtekin, Yigit; Chyn Phan, Yih; Ibrahim, Youssed; Glaser, Zachary A; Abiddin, Zainal Adwin; Qin, Zijian; Zotter, Zsuzsanna; Zainuddin, Zulkifl

Reduction of cardiac imaging tests during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Italy. Findings from the IAEA Non-invasive Cardiology Protocol Survey on COVID-19 (INCAPS COVID)

Background: In early 2020, COVID-19 massively hit Italy, earlier and harder than any other European country. This caused a series of strict containment measures, aimed at blocking the spread of the pandemic. Healthcare delivery was also affected when resources were diverted towards care of COVID-19 patients, including intensive care wards. Aim of the study: The aim is assessing the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac imaging in Italy, compare to the Rest of Europe (RoE) and the World (RoW). Methods: A global survey was conducted in May–June 2020 worldwide, through a questionnaire distributed online. The survey covered three periods: March and April 2020, and March 2019. Data from 52 Italian centres, a subset of the 909 participating centres from 108 countries, were analyzed. Results: In Italy, volumes decreased by 67% in March 2020, compared to March 2019, as opposed to a significantly lower decrease (p &lt; 0.001) in RoE and RoW (41% and 40%, respectively). A further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 summed up to 76% for the North, 77% for the Centre and 86% for the South. When compared to the RoE and RoW, this further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 in Italy was significantly less (p = 0.005), most likely reflecting the earlier effects of the containment measures in Italy, taken earlier than anywhere else in the West. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic massively hit Italy and caused a disruption of healthcare services, including cardiac imaging studies. This raises concern about the medium- and long-term consequences for the high number of patients who were denied timely diagnoses and the subsequent lifesaving therapies and procedures

International Impact of COVID-19 on the Diagnosis of Heart Disease

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected diagnosis and treatment of noncommunicable diseases. Its effects on delivery of diagnostic care for cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide, have not been quantified. Objectives: The study sought to assess COVID-19's impact on global cardiovascular diagnostic procedural volumes and safety practices. Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey assessing alterations in cardiovascular procedure volumes and safety practices resulting from COVID-19. Noninvasive and invasive cardiac testing volumes were obtained from participating sites for March and April 2020 and compared with those from March 2019. Availability of personal protective equipment and pandemic-related testing practice changes were ascertained. Results: Surveys were submitted from 909 inpatient and outpatient centers performing cardiac diagnostic procedures, in 108 countries. Procedure volumes decreased 42% from March 2019 to March 2020, and 64% from March 2019 to April 2020. Transthoracic echocardiography decreased by 59%, transesophageal echocardiography 76%, and stress tests 78%, which varied between stress modalities. Coronary angiography (invasive or computed tomography) decreased 55% (p &lt; 0.001 for each procedure). In multivariable regression, significantly greater reduction in procedures occurred for centers in countries with lower gross domestic product. Location in a low-income and lower–middle-income country was associated with an additional 22% reduction in cardiac procedures and less availability of personal protective equipment and telehealth. Conclusions: COVID-19 was associated with a significant and abrupt reduction in cardiovascular diagnostic testing across the globe, especially affecting the world's economically challenged. Further study of cardiovascular outcomes and COVID-19–related changes in care delivery is warranted