Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Division of Neuroradiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Neuroradiol J. 2023 Dec;36(6):712-715. doi: 10.1177/19714009231193161. Epub 2023 Jul 28.
To assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the proportion of abnormal paediatric neuroimaging findings as a surrogate marker for potential underutilisation.
Consecutive paediatric brain MRIs performed between March 27th and June 19th 2019 (T) and March 23rd and June 1st 2020 (T) were reviewed and classified according to presence or absence and type of imaging abnormality, and graded regarding severity on a 5-point Likert scale, where grade 4 was defined as abnormal finding requiring non-urgent intervention and grade 5 was defined as acute illness prompting urgent medical intervention. Non-parametric statistical testing was used to assess for significant differences between T vs. T.
Fewer paediatric MRI brains were performed during T compared to T (12.2 vs 14.7 examinations/day). No significant difference was found between the two time periods regarding sex and age (T: 557 females (44.63%), 7.95 ± 5.49 years, T: 385 females (44.61%), 7.64 ± 6.11 years; = 1 and = .079, respectively). MRI brain examinations during T had a higher likelihood of being abnormal, 41.25% vs. 25.32% (<.0001). Vascular abnormalities were more frequent during T (11.01% vs 8.01%, = .02), congenital malformations were less common (8.34% vs 12.34%, = .004). Severity of MRI brain examinations was significantly different when comparing group 4 and group 5 individually and combined between T and T ( = .0018, < .0001, and <.0001, respectively).
The rate of abnormality and severity found on paediatric brain MRI was significantly higher during the early phase of the pandemic, likely due to underutilisation.
评估 COVID-19 大流行对异常儿科神经影像学表现比例的影响，将其作为潜在利用不足的替代标志物。
回顾性分析 2019 年 3 月 27 日至 6 月 19 日（T）和 2020 年 3 月 23 日至 6 月 1 日（T）期间连续进行的儿科脑部 MRI，并根据存在或不存在影像学异常的类型进行分类，并根据 5 分 Likert 量表对严重程度进行分级，其中 4 级定义为需要非紧急干预的异常发现，5 级定义为提示紧急医疗干预的急性疾病。采用非参数统计检验评估 T 与 T 之间的显著差异。
T 期间进行的儿科 MRI 脑部检查数量少于 T（12.2 次/天 vs 14.7 次/天）。两个时间段之间的性别和年龄无显著差异（T：557 名女性（44.63%），7.95 ± 5.49 岁；T：385 名女性（44.61%），7.64 ± 6.11 岁；= 1，=.079）。T 期间的 MRI 脑部检查异常的可能性更高，为 41.25%，而 T 为 25.32%（<.0001）。T 期间血管异常更为常见（11.01% vs 8.01%，=.02），先天性畸形则较少见（8.34% vs 12.34%，=.004）。当分别比较 T 和 T 时，个体比较组 4 和组 5 以及合并比较时，MRI 脑部检查的严重程度存在显著差异（=.0018，<.0001 和<.0001）。
大流行早期，儿科脑部 MRI 异常率和严重程度显著升高，可能是由于利用不足所致。
