Diagnostic Reading 17: Five “Must Read” Articles on Medical Imaging
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Establishing safe workflows and international recommendations on chest imaging for COVID-19.
This week’s articles in Diagnostic Reading include: FDA relaxes rules to help with COVID-19 imaging; creating safe workflows during the pandemic; preparing a CT suite for a medical emergency surge; international recommendations for COVID-19 chest imaging; and how radiology practices can prep for rapid increase in routine screenings.
FDA relaxes rules on imaging modifications for COVID-19 – AuntMinnie
In an effort to make medical imaging more available to COVID-19 patients, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is relaxing its rules on modification of radiology equipment. Modifications will not need the agency’s imprimatur before being used on patients during the crisis. The FDA provided a list of modifications to imaging equipment that it believed would not pose an undue risk to patients.
Radiology and COVID-19: How to establish safe workflows – Healthcare-in-Europe
Recognizing and identifying COVID-19 patterns enables faster recognition and helps clinicians to triage these patients, said radiology experts during an online conference organized by the European Society of Radiology (ESR). Not only did they highlight the role of structured reporting in communicating clear results to their teams, they also offered advice on how to improve patient and staff safety during the pandemic.
5 ways to prepare the CT suite for a COVID-19 surge – AuntMinnie
Researchers from the University of Southern California emphasized that it’s critical to take proactive measures now to prepare for a “mass casualty incident” — that is, an event like the COVID-19 pandemic that can overwhelm a hospital’s resources, according to a letter published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. This also would include terrorist attacks, bombings, mass shootings or natural disasters. Radiology plays an important role in triaging and diagnosing patients during a medical emergency, noted the researchers.
Chest imaging in COVID-19 management: international consensus recommendations – Diagnostic Imaging
Though industry consensus discourages the use of chest imaging for COVID-19 diagnosis, the role of both chest X-ray (CXR) and chest CT continues to emerge. In an effort to provide clarity for implementing imaging, the international Fleischner Society published a consensus statement that provides suggestions for scenarios where chest imaging is appropriate. The panel agreed that the clinical body of knowledge surrounding COVID-19 is growing and rapidly changing, and their recommendations represent the most actionable information available to date.
How radiology practices can prepare for the ‘surge’ once routine cancer screenings resume – Radiology Business
Radiology providers across the country have been postponing all routine, nonurgent cancer imaging during the pandemic. As that demand is going to bounce back, practice leaders are looking to prepare themselves for a possible “surge” in the coming months. In an editorial published in Radiology: Imaging Cancer, experts with the University of Michigan and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) explored such preparations.
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