This paper aims to examine COVID-19 impact on nuclear medicine in the United Kingdom. As a result of the resurge of the pandemic, different changes such as staff absences and redeployment, radiopharmaceuticals supply, and reasons for regional disparities have been noticed.
The research used an online questionnaire distributed through email by the British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) to about 776 members at 291 sites across the United Kingdom. The questionnaire comprised 34 questions that covered various topics that relate to the aim of the study. The investigators created and reviewed all the questions before uploading them on the survey monkey system. The survey took place in the UK during the first lockdown.
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After collecting the data, the result was collated, analyzed, and tabulated by the investigators. It was found that a reduction of 65 percent was noted across all services, such as in-vitro procedures and therapies and radionuclide diagnostic imaging. It was noticed that a decline in nuclear medicine procedure started in the week of 6th April 2020 and worsened in the following week. Additionally, 10 percent of the participants reported increased services in their department. Some of the centers that reported increased services include outpatient radioiodine, lung perfusion, and thyroid cancer treatment. More so, the pandemic caused a significant impact on diagnostic procedures of radionuclide. About 97.6 percent of the respondent reported a reduction of nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures. The most affected procedures were the lung imaging procedures that showed broad variations in protocol. Coronavirus also impacted the nuclear medicine workforce. The nuclear medicine workforce reported absenteeism, lack of PPE, and limited supply of radiopharmaceutical supply.
In summary, the study demonstrated a significant disruption of the nuclear medicine workforce and services. This study helped the BNMS create standard strategic procedures that guided nuclear medicine services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
Dizdarevic, S., Abdulla, M., Sewedy, T., Weston, C., Oxley, C., Croasdale, J., ... & Buscombe, J. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on nuclear medicine in the UK. Nuclear medicine communications , 42 (2), 138-149. Retrieved from https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.bnms.org.uk/resource/resmgr/news_&_press_office/impact_of_covid_19_on_nuclea.pdf on 25th June 2021
