scholarly journals Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia and the Impact on Nuclear Cardiology Services: An Institutional Experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Ahmad Zaid Zanial ◽  
Syifaa Aminudin ◽  
FatinHayani Mohamad Najib ◽  
Siti Zarina Amir Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Medicine ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Nuclear Cardiology ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Main Difficulty ◽  
Technetium 99M ◽  
Institutional Experience ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Wave

Introduction: Nuclear cardiology applying radioactive tracer and hybrid imaging techniques are able to provide information needed to detect and evaluate ischaemic heart diseases. In our centre, nuclear cardiology services involving stress and rest myocardial perfusion scans and viability studies contribute about 40% of overall scan workload. The second wave of COVID- 19 pandemic in Malaysia announced by the end of February 2020 has affected nuclear cardiology services.Objectives: Our aims were to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic second wave on the nuclear cardiology imaging studies performed as well as to ascertain crucial institutional experience especially unavoidable problem and adjustment during the period.Methods: A review of Technetium-99m tetrofosmin radiopharmaceutical dispensing data and scan records for 1st February to 31st August 2019 and 2020 was conducted at Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Figures were compiled and statistical analysis done. Survey and focus discussion conducted involving nuclear medicine physicians, pharmacists and physic officers to identify the main difficulty faced and most important Job-adapting measure taken.Results: A total of 1109 cardiac radiopharmaceutical doses dispensed during the studied period but were less when compared to 1342 doses dispensed last year. Significant reduction was noted in April and May 2020 with only 69 and 67 cases respectively in comparison with monthly average of 192 cases in 2019. Although some scan appointments were postponed to avoid the usual waiting area congestions, the main difficulty faced was Technetium-99m generator supply disruption with limited production in Europe and international transportation restriction. Implementing infection control standard operating procedure (SOP) instructions as part of routine work practice with emphasis of time, distance and shielding concept was the most important Job-adapting measure.Conclusion: Nuclear cardiology services were affected by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic locally. Main problem ascertained was disruption of radioactive supply. Most important adjustment was infection control SOP implementation.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2021 Page: S25

Comparative Study of Various Nuclear Medicine Imaging Technique - A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beena Ullala Mata B N ◽  
Anup Kumar Pal ◽  
Hrithik Sivadasan ◽  
Himanshu Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Medicine ◽  
Multimodality Imaging ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Medical Specialty ◽  
Pharmacological Action ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Nuclear Medicine Imaging ◽  
Pet Ct ◽  
Nuclear Medicine Instrumentation ◽  
The Impact

Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty that allows modern diagnostics and treatments using radiopharmaceuticals original radiotracers (drugs linked to a radioactive isotope). The radiopharmaceuticals are considered a special group of drugs and thus their preparation and use are regulated by a set of policies that have been adopted by individual member countries. The radiopharmaceuticals used in diagnostic examinations are administered in very small doses. So, in general, they have no pharmacological action, side effects or serious adverse reactions. The most serious issue with their use is the potential for diagnostic mistakes due to changes in their biodistribution. The appearance and development of new radiopharmaceuticals in both the diagnostic and therapeutic domains, as well as the impact of new multimodality imaging techniques, are all having a significant impact on nuclear medicine (SPECT-CT, PET-CT, PET-MRI, etc.). It is crucial to understand the techniques limitations, radiopharmaceutical distribution and potential physiological changes, radiological contrast contraindications and bad responses, and the possibility of both interfering. The process of generating radiopharmaceuticals is introduced and relevant interactions of radiation with matter are discussed. Diagnostic nuclear medicine instrumentation is explained, and future trends in nuclear medicine imaging technology are forecasted.

Comparative Study of Various Nuclear Medicine Imaging Technique - A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beena Ullala Mata B N ◽  
Anup Kumar Pal ◽  
Hrithik Sivadasan ◽  
Himanshu Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Medicine ◽  
Multimodality Imaging ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Medical Specialty ◽  
Pharmacological Action ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Nuclear Medicine Imaging ◽  
Pet Ct ◽  
Nuclear Medicine Instrumentation ◽  
The Impact

Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty that allows modern diagnostics and treatments using radiopharmaceuticals original radiotracers (drugs linked to a radioactive isotope). The radiopharmaceuticals are considered a special group of drugs and thus their preparation and use are regulated by a set of policies that have been adopted by individual member countries. The radiopharmaceuticals used in diagnostic examinations are administered in very small doses. So, in general, they have no pharmacological action, side effects or serious adverse reactions. The most serious issue with their use is the potential for diagnostic mistakes due to changes in their biodistribution. The appearance and development of new radiopharmaceuticals in both the diagnostic and therapeutic domains, as well as the impact of new multimodality imaging techniques, are all having a significant impact on nuclear medicine (SPECT-CT, PET-CT, PET-MRI, etc.). It is crucial to understand the techniques limitations, radiopharmaceutical distribution and potential physiological changes, radiological contrast contraindications and bad responses, and the possibility of both interfering. The process of generating radiopharmaceuticals is introduced and relevant interactions of radiation with matter are discussed. Diagnostic nuclear medicine instrumentation is explained, and future trends in nuclear medicine imaging technology are forecasted.

scholarly journals The changing face of Dentistry in the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 530
Author(s):  
NH Wood
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
South African ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Extreme Pressure ◽  
The South ◽  
Control Processes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Wave

The year is drawing to a close and with it we present to you the final issue of the South African Dental Journal for 2020. This year saw us face the terrible COVID-19 pandemic. As oral healthcare practitioners we have been challenged in many ways, and this placed many of us under extreme pressure. Unfortunately we are just starting to see a new rise, or second wave, in the numbers of positive COVID-19 cases being reported. This means that the pressure is not about to be released, and we continue to navigate these uncharted waters into 2021. In February we were uncertain about the impact of COVID-19 on our healthcare systems and our country, however we have now seen the course and the progression of this disease in many countries, and we know the reach it has and the devastating infection it causes. In light of this I am reminding you of the required infection control processes and procedures that need to be in place to protect yourself, co-workers and your patients.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nuclear Medicine in Germany, Austria and Switzerland: An International Survey in April 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (04) ◽  
pp. 294-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz S. Freudenberg ◽  
Ulf Dittmer ◽  
Ken Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Medicine ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diagnostic Procedures ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Public Versus Private ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction Preparations of health systems to accommodate large number of severely ill COVID-19 patients in March/April 2020 has a significant impact on nuclear medicine departments. Materials and Methods A web-based questionnaire was designed to differentiate the impact of the pandemic on inpatient and outpatient nuclear medicine operations and on public versus private health systems, respectively. Questions were addressing the following issues: impact on nuclear medicine diagnostics and therapy, use of recommendations, personal protective equipment, and organizational adaptations. The survey was available for 6 days and closed on April 20, 2020. Results 113 complete responses were recorded. Nearly all participants (97 %) report a decline of nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures. The mean reduction in the last three weeks for PET/CT, scintigraphies of bone, myocardium, lung thyroid, sentinel lymph-node are –14.4 %, –47.2 %, –47.5 %, –40.7 %, –58.4 %, and –25.2 % respectively. Furthermore, 76 % of the participants report a reduction in therapies especially for benign thyroid disease (-41.8 %) and radiosynoviorthesis (–53.8 %) while tumor therapies remained mainly stable. 48 % of the participants report a shortage of personal protective equipment. Conclusions Nuclear medicine services are notably reduced 3 weeks after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reached Germany, Austria and Switzerland on a large scale. We must be aware that the current crisis will also have a significant economic impact on the healthcare system. As the survey cannot adapt to daily dynamic changes in priorities, it serves as a first snapshot requiring follow-up studies and comparisons with other countries and regions.

Methods and clinical applications in nuclear cardiology: a position statement

2002 ◽  
Vol 41 (01) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Schäfers
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Cardiology ◽  
Clinical Medicine ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
Electron Beam Tomography ◽  
Partial Functions ◽  
Cost Benefit Ratio ◽  
Medicine Today

SummaryNuclear cardiological procedures have paved the way for non-invasive diagnostics of various partial functions of the heart. Many of these functions cannot be visualised for diagnosis by any other method (e. g. innervation). These techniques supplement morphological diagnosis with regard to treatment planning and monitoring. Furthermore, they possess considerable prognostic relevance, an increasingly important issue in clinical medicine today, not least in view of the cost-benefit ratio.Our current understanding shows that effective, targeted nuclear cardiology diagnosis – in particular for high-risk patients – can contribute toward cost savings while improving the quality of diagnostic and therapeutic measures.In the future, nuclear cardiology will have to withstand mounting competition from other imaging techniques (magnetic resonance imaging, electron beam tomography, multislice computed tomography). The continuing development of these methods increasingly enables measurement of functional aspects of the heart. Nuclear radiology methods will probably develop in the direction of molecular imaging.

The Impact of Plate Imaging Techniques on Flexographic Printed Conductive Traces

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Kahn ◽  
Liam H. O’Hara ◽  
Chip Tonkin ◽  
Howard E. Nelson ◽  
William J. Ray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
The Impact

Association and treatment of diabetes in patients affected by Covid-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1198-1201
Author(s):  
Syed Yasir Afaque
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Prognostic Value ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The World ◽  
Treatment Of Diabetes ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Composite Outcomes ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Impact

In December 2019, a unique coronavirus infection, SARS-CoV-2, was first identified in the province of Wuhan in China. Since then, it spread rapidly all over the world and has been responsible for a large number of morbidity and mortality among humans. According to a latest study, Diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, Hypertension etc. are being considered important risk factors for the development of this infection and is also associated with unfavorable outcomes in these patients. There is little evidence concerning the trail back of these patients possibly because of a small number of participants and people who experienced primary composite outcomes (such as admission in the ICU, usage of machine-driven ventilation or even fatality of these patients). Until now, there are no academic findings that have proven independent prognostic value of diabetes on death in the novel Coronavirus patients. However, there are several conjectures linking Diabetes with the impact as well as progression of COVID-19 in these patients. The aim of this review is to acknowledge about the association amongst Diabetes and the novel Coronavirus and the result of the infection in such patients.

Position paper nuclear cardiology: Update 2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (02) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Bengel ◽  
U. Büll ◽  
W. Burchert ◽  
P. Kies ◽  
R. Kluge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Medicine ◽  
Nuclear Cardiology ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Position Paper ◽  
Circulation Research ◽  
Diagnostic Algorithms ◽  
Clinical Diagnostic ◽  
Common Position ◽  
German Association

SummaryNuclear cardiology is well established in clinical diagnostic algorithms for many years. This is an update 2008 of the first common position paper of the German Association of Nuclear Medicine and the German Association of Cardiology, Heart and Circulation Research published in 2001 aiming at an overview of state-of-the-art scintigraphic methods.

Cardiovascular Imaging for Guiding Interventional Therapy in Structural Heart Diseases

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-122
Author(s):  
Nora Rat ◽  
Iolanda Muntean ◽  
Diana Opincariu ◽  
Liliana Gozar ◽  
Rodica Togănel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Interventional Procedure ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Ductus Arteriosus ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Interventional Therapy ◽  
Structural Defects ◽  
Imaging Method ◽  
Three Dimensional Echocardiography

Development of interventional methods has revolutionized the treatment of structural cardiac diseases. Given the complexity of structural interventions and the anatomical variability of various structural defects, novel imaging techniques have been implemented in the current clinical practice for guiding the interventional procedure and for selection of the device to be used. Three– dimensional echocardiography is the most used imaging method that has improved the threedimensional assessment of cardiac structures, and it has considerably reduced the cost of complications derived from malalignment of interventional devices. Assessment of cardiac structures with the use of angiography holds the advantage of providing images in real time, but it does not allow an anatomical description. Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) and intracardiac ultrasonography play major roles in guiding Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) or Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure and device follow-up, while TEE is the procedure of choice to assess the flow in the Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) and the embolic risk associated with a decreased flow. On the other hand, contrast CT and MRI have high specificity for providing a detailed description of structure, but cannot assess the flow through the shunt or the valvular mobility. This review aims to present the role of modern imaging techniques in pre-procedural assessment and intraprocedural guiding of structural percutaneous interventions performed to close an ASD, a PFO, an LAA or a patent ductus arteriosus.

scholarly journals Evaluation of a home-based 7-day infection control strategy for healthcare workers following high-risk exposure to severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): A cohort study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Carla Benea ◽  
Laura Rendon ◽  
Jesse Papenburg ◽  
Charles Frenette ◽  
Ahmed Imacoudene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Risk Exposure ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Respiratory Coronavirus ◽  
Second Wave

Abstract Objective: Evidence-based infection control strategies are needed for healthcare workers (HCWs) following high-risk exposure to severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this study, we evaluated the negative predictive value (NPV) of a home-based 7-day infection control strategy. Methods: HCWs advised by their infection control or occupational health officer to self-isolate due to a high-risk SARS-CoV-2 exposure were enrolled between May and October 2020. The strategy consisted of symptom-triggered nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RNA testing from day 0 to day 7 after exposure and standardized home-based nasopharyngeal swab and saliva testing on day 7. The NPV of this strategy was calculated for (1) clinical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis from day 8–14 after exposure, and for (2) asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 detected by standardized nasopharyngeal swab and saliva specimens collected at days 9, 10, and 14 after exposure. Interim results are reported in the context of a second wave threatening this essential workforce. Results: Among 30 HCWs enrolled, the mean age was 31 years (SD, ±9), and 24 (80%) were female. Moreover, 3 were diagnosed with COVID-19 by day 14 after exposure (secondary attack rate, 10.0%), and all cases were detected using the 7-day infection control strategy: the NPV for subsequent clinical COVID-19 or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 detection by day 14 was 100.0% (95% CI, 93.1%–100.0%). Conclusions: Among HCWs with high-risk exposure to SARS-CoV-2, a home-based 7-day infection control strategy may have a high NPV for subsequent COVID-19 and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 detection. Ongoing data collection and data sharing are needed to improve the precision of the estimated NPV, and here we report interim results to inform infection control strategies in light of a second wave threatening this essential workforce.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document