Phase 3 of COVID-19: Treat your patients and care for your radiographers. A designed projection for an aware and innovative radiology department

Abstract

Since the spread of Covid-19 outbreak, healthcare workers (HCWs) have faced an unprecedented and unpredictable situation on the frontlines. The aim of this document is therefore to provide useful and operative recommendations to radiographers who perform imaging services, such as chest X-ray (XR) and Computer Tomography (CT) scans to three types of patients: negative, suspected or suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome by Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). It is paramount to design two different paths’ layouts for patients entering the Radiology Department. One path should care for the confirmed and suspected SARS-CoV-2 patients, whereas the other path should be for negative patients. A setting envisaging two radiographers is highly recommended when managing Covid-19 patients. One radiographer fully-equipped with proper personal protective equipment (PPE) should deal with the patient in the scanning or x-ray room. The second one should stay in the console room wearing essential PPE. Disinfection plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of disease transmission. Moreover, having clear protocols is key to ensure personal safety and avoid cross-infections. Taking care of patients and HCWs, such as radiographers, is crucial to minimize the risk of disease transmission. Within a Radiology Department, different designed pathways should be taken into consideration both for everyday and epidemic/pandemic healthcare situations. Though Covid-19 pandemic has been a harsh experience in terms of world health and care systems for patients and health professionals - being radiographers among the most involved - we must not miss this chance to learn from what happened. There is the need to address wider causes through learning and in order to prevent failures. The distinction between passive learning (where lessons are identified but not put into practice) and active learning (where those lessons are embedded into an organization’s culture and practices) is crucial in understanding why truly effective learning so often fails to take place.

COVID-19 outbreak impact on health professionals: A survey on the Italian radiographer experience

“…We showed that in most cases the radiographer worked alone in the covid area, although the recommendations indicate at least 2 operators 14 . This led to the use of the PPE uniform for several hours continuously to protect the health of the operator, with a consequent reduction in comfort that could have resulted in a state of psychological distress.…”

Adapting Acquisition Protocols for Covid-19 Patients: A Radiographers’ Perspection in Italy.

“…This could be explained since they have a broader and more defined experience on the management of infectious diseases and the diagnostic therapeutic care pathways to be followed in those cases. As suggested by Martini et al [8], having a suitable designed scenario with two different pathways helps to reduce and avoid cross-infections between patients and healthcare workers. With respect to risk management and patient safety, 41.8% and 45.6% of the respondents said that they have respectively one and two radiographers involved in performing a chest x-ray (CXR) for a Covid-19 patient.…”