Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33260013›Full record

ArticleClinical imaging2021

Declining interest in clinical imaging during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of Google Trends data.

Siegfried Adelhoefer, Travis S Henry, Ron Blankstein, Garth Graham, Michael J Blaha, Omar Dzaye

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical imaging, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Siegfried AdelhoeferJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Charité, Berlin, Germany.
Travis S HenryDepartment of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Ron BlanksteinCardiovascular Imaging Program, Departments of Medicine and Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Garth GrahamAetna Foundation, Hartford, CT, United States.
Michael J BlahaJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Omar DzayeJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Charité, Berlin, Germany; Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States. Electronic address: odzaye@jhmi.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveCurrent evidence suggests a decrease in elective diagnostic imaging procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic with potentially severe long-term consequences. The aim of this study was to quantify recent trends in public interest and related online search behavior for a range of imaging modalities, and "nowcast" future scenarios with respect to imaging use.

methodsWe used Google Trends, a publicly available database to access search query data in systematic and quantitative fashion, to search for key terms related to clinical imaging. We queried the search volume for multiple imaging modalities, identified the most common terms, extracted data for the United States over the time range from August 1, 2016 to August 1, 2020. Results were given in relative terms, using the Google metric 'search volume index'.

resultsWe report a decrease in public interest across all imaging modalities since March 2020 with a subsequent slow increase starting in May 2020. Mean relative search volume (RSV) has changed by -19.4%, -38.3%, and -51.0% for the search terms "Computed tomography", "Magnetic resonance imaging", and "Mammography", respectively, and comparing the two months prior to and following March 1, 2020. RSV has since steadily recuperated reaching all-year highs.

conclusionDecrease in public interest coupled with delays and deferrals of diagnostic imaging will likely result in a high demand for healthcare in the coming months. To respond to this challenge, measures such as risk-stratification algorithms must be developed to allocate resources and avoid the risk of overstraining the healthcare system.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsDiagnostic ImagingHumansSARS-CoV-2Search EngineUnited StatesClinical imagingGoogle TrendsHealth promotionInfodemiology

Identifiers

PMID33260013
PMCPMC9758652

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.