Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate possible patterns of demand for chest imaging during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and derive a decision aid for the allocation of resources in future pandemic challenges. Materials and methods Time data of requests for patients with suspected or confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lung disease were analyzed between February 27th and May 27th 2020. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to evaluate differences in the number of requests between 3 time intervals (I1: 6am – 2pm, I2: 2pm – 10pm, I3: 10pm – 6am). A cosinor model was applied to investigate the demand per hour. Requests per day were compared to the number of regional COVID-19 cases. Results 551 COVID-19 related chest imagings (32.8% outpatients, 67.2% in-patients) of 243 patients were conducted (33.3% female, 66.7% male, mean age 60 ± 17 years). Most exams for outpatients were required during I2 (I1 vs. I2: odds ratio (OR) = 0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62–0.86, p = 0.01; I2 vs. I3: OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.04–1.48, p = 0.03) with an acrophase at 7:29 pm. Requests for in-patients decreased from I1 to I3 (I1 vs. I2: OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.09–1.41, p = 0.01; I2 vs. I3: OR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.05–1.28, p = 0.01) with an acrophase at 12:51 pm. The number of requests per day for outpatients developed similarly to regional cases while demand for in-patients increased later and persisted longer. Conclusions The demand for COVID-19 related chest imaging displayed distinct distribution patterns depending on the sector of patient care and point of time during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. These patterns should be considered in the allocation of resources in future pandemic challenges with similar disease characteristics.
【초록키워드】 COVID-19, coronavirus disease, Coronavirus disease 2019, pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Lung disease, Characteristics, male, female, Patient, age, outpatients, distribution, allocation, resource, disease, First wave, Outpatient, Odds ratio, chest imaging, COVID-19 cases, time interval, Patient care, In-patients, 95% CI, 95% confidence interval, hour, multinomial logistic regression, material, request, sector, MOST, objective, time, acrophase, Result, analyzed, was used, evaluate, required, conducted, applied, per day, in-patient, the SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, Analysis, time, the SARS-CoV-2,