Where have all the diseases gone during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Medical Imaging
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns led to a notable decline in medical imaging procedure volumes globally.
• This study investigates the persistent drop in imaging volumes observed in Mumbai, India, during and after the lockdown period.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare imaging volumes across different modalities (X-ray, sonography, CT, MRI) between a public and a private hospital in Mumbai.
• To analyze trends in imaging volumes from pre-lockdown through post-lockdown periods.
• To explore potential reasons for the sustained decrease in medical imaging utilization.

Main Methods:

• Data on imaging volumes for X-ray, sonography, CT, and MRI were collected from a 1900-bed public hospital and a 220-bed private hospital in Mumbai.
• Data spanned from January 2020 to July 2020, encompassing pre-lockdown, peri-lockdown, lockdown, and unlock phases.
• Imaging volumes during lockdown and unlock periods were compared against pre-lockdown baseline values.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease in imaging volumes was observed across all modalities during the lockdown period.
• This decline persisted even after the easing of lockdown restrictions ('Unlock 1.0' and 'Unlock 2.0').
• The trend of reduced imaging volumes was consistent in both the public and private hospitals studied.

Conclusions:

• The substantial and sustained drop in medical imaging volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Mumbai warrants further investigation.
• Fear of hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection was an initial hypothesis, but the persistence of low volumes suggests other contributing factors.
• Understanding the root causes of this trend is crucial for healthcare planning and ensuring timely patient diagnosis and care.