RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Impact of COVID-19 on the imaging diagnosis of cardiac disease in Europe
JF Open Heart
JO Open Heart
FD British Cardiovascular Society
SP e001681
DO 10.1136/openhrt-2021-001681
VO 8
IS 2
A1 Williams, Michelle Claire
A1 Shaw, Leslee
A1 Hirschfeld, Cole B
A1 Maurovich-Horvat, Pal
A1 Nørgaard, Bjarne L
A1 Pontone, Gianluca
A1 Jimenez-Heffernan, Amelia
A1 Sinitsyn, Valentin
A1 Sergienko, Vladimir
A1 Ansheles, Alexey
A1 Bax, Jeroen J
A1 Buechel, Ronny
A1 Milan, Elisa
A1 Slart, Riemer H J A
A1 Nicol, Edward
A1 Bucciarelli-Ducci, Chiara
A1 Pynda, Yaroslav
A1 Better, Nathan
A1 Cerci, Rodrigo
A1 Dorbala, Sharmila
A1 Raggi, Paolo
A1 Villines, Todd C
A1 Vitola, Joao
A1 Malkovskiy, Eli
A1 Goebel, Benjamin
A1 Cohen, Yosef
A1 Randazzo, Michael
A1 Pascual, Thomas N B
A1 Dondi, Maurizio
A1 Paez, Diana
A1 Einstein, Andrew J
A1 
YR 2021
UL http://openheart.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001681.abstract
AB Objectives We aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac diagnostic testing and practice and to assess its impact in different regions in Europe.Methods The online survey organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency Division of Human Health collected information on changes in cardiac imaging procedural volumes between March 2019 and March/April 2020. Data were collected from 909 centres in 108 countries.Results Centres in Northern and Southern Europe were more likely to cancel all outpatient activities compared with Western and Eastern Europe. There was a greater reduction in total procedure volumes in Europe compared with the rest of the world in March 2020 (45% vs 41%, p=0.003), with a more marked reduction in Southern Europe (58%), but by April 2020 this was similar in Europe and the rest of the world (69% vs 63%, p=0.261). Regional variations were apparent between imaging modalities, but the largest reductions were in Southern Europe for nearly all modalities. In March 2020, location in Southern Europe was the only independent predictor of the reduction in procedure volume. However, in April 2020, lower gross domestic product and higher COVID-19 deaths were the only independent predictors.Conclusion The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on care of patients with cardiac disease, with substantial regional variations in Europe. This has potential long-term implications for patients and plans are required to enable the diagnosis of non-COVID-19 conditions during the ongoing pandemic.No data are available. As data were provided in confidence to the IAEA by survey respondents, sharing of the underlying data is not possible.