Introduction
COVID-19 is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus.1-3 The virus is transmitted through droplets produced when an infected individual exhales, sneezes, or coughs. One gets infected by breathing in the virus when within close distance with an infected individual or by touching a contaminated surface and then your mouth, nose, or eyes. The pandemic has claimed many lives across the globe and brought the world economy to a standstill. The medical sector has significantly suffered as a result of the pandemic. Currently, the virus has no cure, but scientists all over the world are working day and night to find a vaccine. 4-8 People are encouraged to take preventive measures to avoid the spread of the virus, including the stay at home calls, social distancing, wearing masks, and regular washing of hands. 9-11
Apart from the hurting and painful impact on the economy and the daily number of deaths across the world, COVID-19 is also impacting the activities in medical centers. As observed by this study, the pandemic has dramatically affected the activities in radiopharmacy laboratories around the world. This survey aimed to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on activities inside radiopharmacy laboratories globally. The survey looked into the activities going on in the laboratories and what has been affected by the pandemic.
Methods: A Google web-based questionnaire with 12 multiple choice questions were designed to gather data regarding the activities in radiopharmacy laboratories and how COVID-19 has affected their operations.
Survey Invitations: The respondents were requested to take part in the survey through email invitations. Using Google Form Documents, the questionnaire was delivered to the individual respondents working in various radiopharmacy laboratories across the globe using a link and attachments. A reminder was sent to those who did not show a response, asking them to take part in the survey. The survey was voluntary, and no one was coerced into participating against their will.
Sections of the Questionnaire: The 12 point questionnaire was designed and delivered to 100 professional working radiopharmacy laboratories in different parts of the world to get a picture of the impact of COVID-19 on operations within the facilities. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: (1) demographic information, (2) effects of the pandemic on the activities of the respective radiopharmacy lab, and (3) measures taken to prevent or limit the spread of the virus among the staff.
Data Analysis: Results of the survey were analyzed using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Direct responses received from the emails and free texts were also summed up and incorporated in the results.
Results: Demographic data – the survey respondents were organized in accordance with their names, country, age, and profession. The grouping was also based on individual organization, the institution of work, center, and department. One hundred participants randomly chosen from different countries, including United Kingdom (UK), Kingdome of Saudi Arabia, USA, India, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Scotland, South Africa, and Kuwait, were used in the survey. However, most of them were from the UK.
Around 81.4% of the respondents were aged between 40 and 60, 10% between 60 and 80, and 8.2% between 20-40 years. Different health professionals were randomly sampled. 1% were radiochemists, 1% from the teaching faculty, 1% were scientists, 4% medical physicians, 11.5% health administrators, and 80.5% technologists (Fig.1).
The pandemic affected scheduling criteria, with most of the staff encouraged to stay at home or observe the social distance. 1% of the respondents reported going about their normal operations but had strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus. In a large number of radiopharmacy labs, diagnostic imaging tests quantitatively reduced. Certain imaging centers reduced their test procedures to almost half (18.2%). Others reported delay in performing the tests (5%).
It was also reported that COVID-19 had changed procedures for radiopharmaceutical preparations in NM departments by interfering with their pattern of work. F18-FDG (Fig.2) was reported as the frequently used organ imaging pharmaceutical during the pandemic (77%). Other organs include bone (13%), heart (1%), lungs (3%), and others (6%).
The result of the survey also shows that COVID-19 has changed the purchase of pharmaceuticals by 96.9%. Most of the laboratories have taken COVID-19 seriously and implemented the WHO recommendations and regulations on preventing the spread of the virus. 99% of the respondents report strict measures including hand hygiene, social distancing, wearing PPEs, and reduction in the number of professionals allowed in a laboratory.