Abstract
Background and aim:
Covid-19 is a pandemic viral disease involving multi organ systems including cardiovascular system, directly or indirectly. SPECT GATED MPI is a non-invasive nuclear medicine imaging modality to evaluate the myocardial perfusion and function. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on myocardial perfusion imaging for ischemic heart disease.
Methods This was a cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study conducted on 750 patients needing myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) who referred to the nuclear medicine center of Kowsar hospital, a teaching hospital in Sanandaj, the center for Kurdistan province located in northwest of Iran. Data collection was done during the Covid-19 pandemic, between 6 April 2020 and 21 March 2021. Data analyses were conducted in SPSS using independent sample T test and Chi-square.
Results A total of 750 patients, including 328 (43.7%) Covid-19 positive and 422 (56.3%) Covid-19 negative, were entered in the analysis. Although Covid-19 infected Obese patients had significantly higher rate of abnormal MPI (P< 0.0001), no significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding abnormal MPI (p=0.551).
Conclusion The absence of a significant discrepancy in abnormal MPI occurrence between the two groups suggests that there may be Covid-19 patients with potentially abnormal MPI who have gone undetected. Additionally, Covid-19 patients with pleural chest pain, myalgia, or dyspnea could have been misdiagnosed with chest pain secondary to heart disease.