Clinical and molecular practice of European thoracic pathology laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. The past and the near future.

Biological Specimen Banks / organization & administration COVID-19 / epidemiology Clinical Laboratory Services / statistics & numerical data Containment of Biohazards / statistics & numerical data Disease Outbreaks Europe / epidemiology Forecasting Humans Pandemics Pathology, Clinical / methods Pathology, Molecular / methods SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification Specimen Handling / methods Surveys and Questionnaires Thoracic Diseases / diagnosis

COVID-19 activity biosafety lung cancer pathology

Journal

ESMO open

ISSN: 2059-7029

Titre abrégé: ESMO Open

Pays: England

ID NLM: 101690685

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
02 2021

Historique:

received: 15 10 2020

revised: 19 11 2020

accepted: 21 11 2020

pubmed: 6 1 2021

medline: 23 3 2021

entrez: 5 1 2021

Statut: ppublish

Résumé

This study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases. A survey was sent to 71 pathology laboratories from 21 European countries. The questionnaire requested information concerning the organization of biosafety, the clinical and molecular pathology, the biobanking, the workload, the associated research into COVID-19, and the organization of education and training during the COVID-19 crisis, from 15 March to 31 May 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Questionnaires were returned from 53/71 (75%) laboratories from 18 European countries. The biosafety procedures were heterogeneous. The workload in clinical and molecular pathology decreased dramatically by 31% (range, 3%-55%) and 26% (range, 7%-62%), respectively. According to the professional category, between 28% and 41% of the staff members were not present in the laboratories but did teleworking. A total of 70% of the laboratories developed virtual meetings for the training of residents and junior pathologists. During the period of study, none of the staff members with confirmed COVID-19 became infected as a result of handling samples. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on most of the European pathology laboratories included in this study. Urgent implementation of several changes to the organization of most of these laboratories, notably to better harmonize biosafety procedures, was noted at the onset of the pandemic and maintained in the event of a new wave of infection occurring in Europe.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND

This study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey was sent to 71 pathology laboratories from 21 European countries. The questionnaire requested information concerning the organization of biosafety, the clinical and molecular pathology, the biobanking, the workload, the associated research into COVID-19, and the organization of education and training during the COVID-19 crisis, from 15 March to 31 May 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.

RESULTS

Questionnaires were returned from 53/71 (75%) laboratories from 18 European countries. The biosafety procedures were heterogeneous. The workload in clinical and molecular pathology decreased dramatically by 31% (range, 3%-55%) and 26% (range, 7%-62%), respectively. According to the professional category, between 28% and 41% of the staff members were not present in the laboratories but did teleworking. A total of 70% of the laboratories developed virtual meetings for the training of residents and junior pathologists. During the period of study, none of the staff members with confirmed COVID-19 became infected as a result of handling samples.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on most of the European pathology laboratories included in this study. Urgent implementation of several changes to the organization of most of these laboratories, notably to better harmonize biosafety procedures, was noted at the onset of the pandemic and maintained in the event of a new wave of infection occurring in Europe.

Identifiants

DOI: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2020.100024 PMID: 33399086 PMC: PMC7780004

pubmed: 33399086

pii: S2059-7029(20)32889-1

doi: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2020.100024

pmc: PMC7780004

pii:

doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article Multicenter Study

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

Pagination

100024

Informations de copyright

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Disclosure The authors have declared no conflicts of interest. Data sharing Anonymized participant-level data are available for investigators. Ethical approval The study complied with the law of January 1978 (78-17) relating to computing, data, and freedom known as ‘computing and freedoms’ and with rules 2016/679 of the European Parliament (of 25 May 2018) concerning the general data protection regulation (GDPR; MR004). The study was registered by the Nice University Hospital (R04-39) and filed on the Health Data Hub website (7 July 2020) (www.health-data-hub.fr/depot).