A Multicenter Survey on the Trend of Chest CT Scan Utilization: Tracing the First Footsteps of COVID-19 in Iran

• Published in: Archives of Iranian medicine Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 787 - 793
• Main Authors: Radmard, Amir Reza, Gholamrezanezhad, Ali, Montazeri, Seyed Ali, Kasaeian, Amir, Nematollahy, Nemat, Molaee Langrudi, Roghieh, Javad Rashid, Reza, Dehghan, Alireza, Hekmatnia, Ali, Shakourirad, Ali, Pezeshki Rad, Masoud, Nafisi Moghadam, Reza, Sharifian, Hashem, Enhesari, Ahmad, Aalinezhad, Marzieh, Jamalipour Soufi, Ghazaleh, Shakibafard, Alireza, Mohammadzadeh, Maryam, Jalli, Reza, Bakhshayeshkaram, Mehrdad, Faghihi Langroudi, Taraneh, Raoufi, Masoomeh, Abrishami, Alireza, Dehghan, Pooneh, Bahrami-Motlagh, Hooman, Hashemi, Hassan, Sanei Taheri, Morteza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran 01.11.2020
• Subjects: Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnostic imaging; Cross-Sectional Studies; Hospitals - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Iran; Medical imaging; Pandemics - economics; Public health; Radiologists - supply & distribution; Radiology Department, Hospital - economics; Radiology Department, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; SARS-CoV-2; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thorax - diagnostic imaging; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - statistics & numerical data; Iran; COVID-19; Multicenter Study; Radiology department; Hospital; Public health; Multidetector computed tomography
• ISSN: 1029-2977; 1735-3947
• DOI: 10.34172/AIM.2020.105

Chest computed tomography (CT) scan has been used widely to diagnose COVID-19 in Iran. 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. 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. 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.