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.