Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36775966›Full record

ArticleCancer medicine2023

Trends in oncological imaging during the COVID-19 pandemic through the vaccination era.

Debby Cheng, Soham Ghoshal, Ottavia Zattra, Moses Flash, Min Lang, Raymond Liu, Michael H Lev, Joshua A Hirsch, Sanjay Saini, Michael S Gee and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 15% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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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

11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Debby ChengHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8360-9780
Soham GhoshalHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Ottavia ZattraHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6503-0778
Moses FlashHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Min LangHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Raymond LiuHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Michael H LevHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Joshua A HirschHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Sanjay SainiHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Michael S GeeHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Marc D SucciHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1518-3984
Harvard University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study examines the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on computed tomography (CT)-based oncologic imaging utilization.

methodsWe retrospectively analyzed cancer-related CT scans during four time periods: pre-COVID (1/5/20-3/14/20), COVID peak (3/15/20-5/2/20), post-COVID peak (5/3/20-12/19/20), and vaccination period (12/20/20-10/30/21). We analyzed CTs by imaging indication, setting, and hospital type. Using percentage decrease computation and Student's t-test, we calculated the change in mean number of weekly cancer-related CTs for all periods compared to the baseline pre-COVID period. This study was performed at a single academic medical center and three affiliated hospitals.

resultsDuring the COVID peak, mean CTs decreased (-43.0%, p < 0.001), with CTs for (1) cancer screening, (2) initial workup, (3) cancer follow-up, and (4) scheduled surveillance of previously treated cancer dropping by 81.8%, 56.3%, 31.7%, and 45.8%, respectively (p < 0.001). During the post-COVID peak period, cancer screenings and initial workup CTs did not return to prepandemic imaging volumes (-11.4%, p = 0.028; -20.9%, p = 0.024). The ED saw increases in weekly CTs compared to prepandemic levels (+31.9%, p = 0.008), driven by increases in cancer follow-up CTs (+56.3%, p < 0.001). In the vaccination period, cancer screening CTs did not recover to baseline (-13.5%, p = 0.002) and initial cancer workup CTs doubled (+100.0%, p < 0.001). The ED experienced increased cancer-related CTs (+75.9%, p < 0.001), driven by cancer follow-up CTs (+143.2%, p < 0.001) and initial workups (+46.9%, p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The pandemic continues to impact cancer care. We observed significant declines in cancer screening CTs through the end of 2021. Concurrently, we observed a 2× increase in initial cancer workup CTs and a 2.4× increase in cancer follow-up CTs in the ED during the vaccination period, suggesting a boom of new cancers and more cancer examinations associated with emergency level acute care.

Indexed as

COVID-19NeoplasmsEmergency Service, HospitalHumansPandemicsRetrospective StudiesTomography, X-Ray ComputedVaccinationcancercomputed tomographyCOVID-19 pandemicimaging

Identifiers

PMID36775966
PMCPMC10166903
OpenAlexW4320494829

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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.