Elsevier

Clinical Imaging

Volume 68, December 2020, Pages 99-101
Clinical Imaging

Cardiothoracic Imaging
Bringing radiology to patient's home using mobile equipment: A weapon to fight COVID-19 pandemic

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinimag.2020.06.031Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Chest x-ray and computed tomography can play a pivotal role in COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Mobile x-ray at patient's house or nursing home could represent a safe approach reducing social contacts during pandemic.

  • Domiciliary radiography reduces the risk of infected subjects referring to family doctors’ office or emergency departments.

  • This procedure can reduce general practitioner visit, nurse performing swab and transportation to the hospital costs.

Abstract

Because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) high contagiousness, it is crucial to identify and promptly isolate COVID-19 patients. In this context, chest imaging examinations, in particular chest x-ray (CXR), can play a pivotal role in different settings, to triage in case of unavailability, delay of or first negative result of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and to stratify disease severity. Considering the need to reduce, as much as possible, hospital admission of patients with suspected or confirmed infection, the use of mobile x-ray equipment could represent a safe approach. We picture a potential sequence of events, involving a team composed by a radiographer and a nurse, going to patient's home to perform CXR, nasopharyngeal swab (and, if needed, also a blood sample), with fast radiologist tele-reporting, and resulting patient management approach (home isolation or emergency room admission, when needed). This approach brings healthcare to patient's home, reducing the risk of infected subjects referring to family doctors' office or emergency departments, and strengthening community medicine while maintaining a strong connection with radiology departments.

Abbreviations

COVID-19
coronavirus disease 2019
CXR
chest x-ray
CT
computed tomography
RT-PCR
reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction
SARS-CoV-2
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Keywords

COVID-19
COVID-19 diagnostic testing
Radiography
Mobile radiography
Infection control

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