Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging during the COVID-19 pandemic: A southern Italian single-center experience

Purpose: We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imagingstudies performed during the lockdown imposed by the Italian Government from March 2020 to May 2020.Materials and method: We reviewed the number and the findings of CMR scans performed during the COVID-19pandemic between March and May 2020 at University of Naples Federico II. The number and the findings of CMRstudies acquired in the corresponding months of 2017, 2018 and 2019 were also assessed for direct comparison.Results: A total of 117 CMR studies was considered, including the procedures performed during the pandemic (n= 18) and those performed in the corresponding months of the prior 3 years (n = 99). The number of CMRstudies performed during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly (P < .01) lower compared to the meannumber (n = 33) of the procedures performed in the corresponding months of 2017- 2019. The percentage ofabnormal CMR studies was similar (P = 0.73) during the pandemic (67 %) compared to that found in the correspondingmonths of 2017- 2019 (70 %) suggesting that many abnormal tests were missed due to the lockdown.Conclusion: The number of CMR studies was significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic compared tothe corresponding period of the previous three years. The lack of difference in the prevalence of abnormal CMRstudies between the two study time intervals strongly suggests that many patients with potentially abnormalimaging test have been missed during the pandemic.