COVID-19 pandemic: guidance for nuclear medicine departments

Abstract

Coronaviruses are non-segmented, enveloped positive-sense
\nribonucleic acid viruses from the Coronaviridae family. There
\nare six types of the coronavirus known to infect humans. Four
\nof them cause mild respiratory symptoms, while two of them,
\nthe Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS)
\nand the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), have
\ncaused epidemics with high mortality rates.
\nIn December 2019, a new type of coronavirus 2019-nCoV/
\nSARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19 disease, was extracted and
\nidentified from the lower respiratory tract samples of several
\npatients in Wuhan, China. These patients presented with
\nsymptoms of severe pneumonia, including fever, fatigue, dry
\ncough, and respiratory distress.
\nThe coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection. It is believed to be
\ntransmitted via respiratory droplets and fomites during close
\nunprotected contact between an infector and an infectee. The
\ncoronaviruses mainly infect epithelial cells in the lung, but
\nSARS-CoV-2 has been detected in respiratory, fecal, and
\nblood specimens of patients infected with the virus.
\nOn February 3, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern, and
\non March 11, declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The total
\nnumber of confirmed cases, deaths associated with COVID19, and affected countries and territories continues to grow;
\ndetailed statistics can be found at the WHO–Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic site or the John Hopkins
\nCoronavirus Resource Centre.
\nHealth care providers around the world are facing challenging decisions. They are rapidly adjusting their standard operating procedures (SOPs) to cope with the pandemic cases and
\ndeliver their services. This is done in line with local guidance,
\nresources available, and the advice of the World Health
\nOrganization (WHO) Minimum Requirements for infection
\nprevention and control (IPC) programmes.
\nThis publication was prepared based on the systematic review of available literature on the subject and the contribution
\nof a panel of international experts during the webinar entitled “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic: Challenges for
\nthe Nuclear Medicine Departments,” organized by the
\nInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and broadcasted
\nlive on Wednesday 25 March 2020.
\nThe objective of this guide is not to override any
\nlocal guidance or national practice guidelines or rules,
\nnor does it provide comprehensive advice on all aspects
\nof nuclear medicine practice. It is solely intended as
\nadvice for nuclear medicine facilities during this time
\nof adjustment and adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic. We present suggested recommendations for nuclear
\nmedicine departments to follow, based on a typical patient’s “journey” through the department.

Topics & Concepts