A primer for pediatric radiologists on infection control in an era of COVID-19

Monica Miranda-Schaeubinger; Einat Blumfield; Govind B Chavhan; Amy B Farkas; Aparna Joshi; Shawn E Kamps; Summer L Kaplan; Marla B K Sammer; Elizabeth Silvestro; A Luana Stanescu; Raymond W Sze; Danielle M Zerr; Tushar Chandra; Emily A Edwards; Naeem Khan; Eva I Rubio; Chido D Vera; Ramesh S Iyer

doi:10.1007/s00247-020-04713-1

A primer for pediatric radiologists on infection control in an era of COVID-19

Pediatr Radiol. 2020 Aug;50(9):1191-1204. doi: 10.1007/s00247-020-04713-1. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Authors

Monica Miranda-Schaeubinger¹, Einat Blumfield², Govind B Chavhan³, Amy B Farkas⁴, Aparna Joshi⁵, Shawn E Kamps⁶, Summer L Kaplan¹, Marla B K Sammer⁷, Elizabeth Silvestro¹, A Luana Stanescu⁶, Raymond W Sze¹, Danielle M Zerr⁸, Tushar Chandra⁹, Emily A Edwards¹⁰, Naeem Khan¹¹, Eva I Rubio¹², Chido D Vera¹³, Ramesh S Iyer¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
² Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Montefiore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
³ Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Radiology, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
⁵ Section of Pediatric Radiology, C. S. Mott Children's Hospital, Department of Radiology, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington School of Medicine, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, MA.7.220, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA.
⁷ Department of Radiology, Texas Children's Hospital,, Houston, TX, USA.
⁸ Department of Infectious Disease, Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁹ Department of Radiology, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, FL, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Radiology, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA.
¹¹ Department of Diagnostic Imaging, IWK Health Center,, Halifax, NS, Canada.
¹² Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology,, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
¹³ Department of Radiology, The University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Radiology, Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington School of Medicine, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, MA.7.220, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA. riyer@uw.edu.

Abstract

Pediatric radiology departments across the globe face unique challenges in the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic that have not been addressed in professional guidelines. Providing a safe environment for personnel while continuing to deliver optimal care to patients is feasible when abiding by fundamental recommendations. In this article, we review current infection control practices across the multiple pediatric institutions represented on the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR) Quality and Safety committee. We discuss the routes of infectious transmission and appropriate transmission-based precautions, in addition to exploring strategies to optimize personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies. This work serves as a summary of current evidence-based recommendations for infection control, and current best practices specific to pediatric radiologists.

Keywords: COVID-19; Children; Infection control; Pediatric radiology; Personal protective equipment; Safety.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus*
COVID-19
Child
Coronavirus Infections / prevention & control*
Humans
Infection Control / methods*
Pandemics / prevention & control*
Pediatrics / methods*
Personal Protective Equipment
Pneumonia, Viral / prevention & control*
Practice Guidelines as Topic*
Radiologists*
Radiology Department, Hospital
SARS-CoV-2

Grants and funding

P20 GM121334/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States