Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33315728›Full record

ArticleNuclear medicine communications2021

The COVID-19 pandemic: impact on NHS England PET-CT services and lessons learnt.

Wai Lup Wong, Peter Ross, Kevin Peters, Marion Frenz, Tong Hai, Alex Ridgeon, Ralph Toop, Peter Strouhal, Jamshed Bomanji

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nuclear medicine communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The Impact of COVID-19 on Nuclear Medicine in Europe.Seminars in nuclear medicine · 2022
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
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

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Wai Lup WongPET CT Department, Strickland Scanner Centre Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood; NHS England and NHS Improvement (Specialised Services), Skipton House.
Peter RossDepartment of Management, Birkbeck University of London, London.
Kevin PetersNHS England and NHS Improvement (Yorkshire and The Humber Specialised Commissioning Team), Quarry House, Leeds.
Marion FrenzDepartment of Management, Birkbeck University of London, London.
Tong HaiDepartment of Mathematical Science, Faculty of Social Science, University of Southampton, Southampton.
Alex RidgeonSpecialised Commissioning, NHS England and NHS Improvement (East of England), Victoria House, Capital Park, Fulbourne, Cambridge.
Ralph ToopInHealth Beechwood Hall Kingsmead Road, High Wycombe.
Peter StrouhalAlliance Medical Ltd, Iceni Centre, Warwick Technology Park, Warwick.
Jamshed BomanjiPET CT Department, Strickland Scanner Centre Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood; NHS England and NHS Improvement (Specialised Services), Skipton House.
Birkbeck, University of London · GBNHS EnglandDigital Research Alliance of CanadaNorthwood University · USUniversity of Southampton · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe purpose of the study was to examine the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 on National Health Service (NHS) 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (FDG PET-CT) scanning activity across England.

methodsMonthly FDG PET-CT scanning activity was collected from 41/48 NHS England provider sites. Data from 31/41 sites were stratified by nononcology/oncology, cancer type, with lung cancer and lymphoma split into specific indications, turn-around times and delays due to radiotracer.

resultsIn April and May 2020, a 32 and 31% decrease in activity was observed, a larger decrease for noncancer compared with cancer FDG PET-CT. In June 2020, activity started to recover with 6% fewer scans recorded compared with June 2019. Of the six most common indications, lung and oesophageal cancer had the largest decrease in activity and slowest recovery. Lymphoma and melanoma showed the smallest decrease and fastest recovery. Lung cancer scans for initial diagnosis/staging saw the largest fall and slowest recovery compared with scans for known lung cancer. There was no percentage increase in overall turn-around time compared with the same months in 2019, and no increase in turn-around time of more than 7 working days due to FDG supply during April and May 2020 compared with the 3 previous months.

conclusionsThere is no correlation between FDG PET-CT activity (fall and recovery) in England and the ability to provide the service by NHS England. It most likely reflects a combination of changes in health-seeking behaviour, NHS health policy and a decrease in the use of investigations that carry a high risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Indexed as

PandemicsPositron Emission Tomography Computed TomographyCOVID-19EnglandHumansNational Health ProgramsRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID33315728
PMCPMC7808358
OpenAlexW3112617338

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.