We agree with Kooraki et al [1] that protection from the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is essential for radiographers. Specifically, there is reference to the aerosol-generating procedure as defined by the World Health Organization [2] and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [3]. Nuclear medicine falls within this microcosm; in some radiology departments, it is encompassed, but in others, it is stand-alone. Regardless, within nuclear medicine, the most common—and only regular—aerosol-generating procedure is the ventilation-perfusion scans. This is vastly different from any other procedure in radiology. The current College recommendations need to account for ventilation-perfusion scans. In our department, we perform up to 30 such procedures per week. Should we approach this procedure for patients suspected of COVID-19 infection in the same way as for patients with influenza virus [4,5]?
Footnotes
Dr Lee is employed by Queensland Health, which is a public hospital organization. He has also received travel expenses from his specialty society (a not-for-profit organization) for travel to meetings of the Continuing Professional Development Committee, of which he is a member. Dr Chong is employed by the University of Queensland, a government university.
References
- 1.Kooraki S., Hosseiny M., Myers L., Gholamrezanezhad A. Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: what the department of radiology should know. J Am Coll Radiol. 2020;17:447–451. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2020.02.008. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.World Health Organization Rational use of personal protective equipment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331215/WHO-2019-nCov-IPCPPE_use-2020.1-eng.pdf Available at: Published February 27, 2020. Accessed March 15, 2020.
- 3.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Interim infection prevention and control recommendations for patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or persons under investigation for COVID-19 in healthcare settings. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/infection-control/control-recommendations.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fhcp%2Finfection-control.html Available at: Published February 21, 2020. Accessed March 15, 2020.
- 4.American College of Radiology ACR position statement on quality control and improvement, safety, infection control and patient education. https://www.acr.org/Advocacy-and-Economics/ACR-Position-Statements/Quality-Control-and-Improvement Available at: Published January 9, 2020. Accessed March 15, 2020.
- 5.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Prevention strategies for seasonal influenza in healthcare settings. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/healthcaresettings.htm Available at: Published October 30, 2018. Accessed March 15, 2020.