A Guide to Mass Casualty Incidents for Radiology Residents: Strategies, Ethics, Directions.

Mass casualty incidents, by nature of their scale and unpredictability, can rapidly overwhelm health infrastructure. Preparation is the key to managing these crises with the lowest risk to emergency and health personnel, while providing maximal life saving measures. We present an overview of the multitiered planning that should go into forming a well set out emergency response plan and one that is capable of being adapted to a wide range of mass casualty scenarios. We highlight the ethical implications that a healthcare team faces while making challenging decisions rapidly in a high-pressure environment. Radiology trainees should be aware of the response systems in place at their institutions and the role that is expected of them in mass casualty incidents.

Interventional radiology and COVID-19: evidence-based measures to limit transmission.

As we face an explosion of COVID-19 cases and deal with an unprecedented set of circumstances all over the world, healthcare personnel are at the forefront, dealing with this emerging scenario. Certain subspecialties like interventional radiology entails a greater risk of acquiring and transmitting infection due to the close patient contact and invasive patient care the service provides. This makes it imperative to develop and set guidelines in place to limit transmission and utilize resources in an optimal fashion. A multi-tiered approach needs to be devised and monitored at the administrative level, taking into account the various staff and patient contact points. Based on these factors, work site and health force rearrangements need to be in place while enforcing segregation and disinfection parameters. We are putting forth an all-encompassing review of infection control measures that cover the dynamics of patient care and staff protocols that such a situation demands of an interventional department.

Postmortem CT in Trauma: An Overview.

As forensic radiology sees an exponential gain in popularity, postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) is increasingly being used in the appropriate setting, either as preautopsy guidance or as part of complementary virtual autopsy protocol. Many articles have expounded the value it adds to forensic pathology in the general setting and the appropriate technical parameters to be used for optimum benefit. We aim to put forth a concise review on the role of PMCT specifically in trauma and the pitfalls to be aware of. Reviews have shown that presumed cause of death in trauma have been proven by autopsy to be wrong in about 30% cases. Radiology applied to postmortem investigation in unnatural deaths and more specifically in trauma shares many semiotic features with emergency radiology. Therefore, in the near future, emergency radiologists might be required to integrate this type of imaging in their regular practice. Although the predominant drawbacks are time-dependent, PMCT also has some difficulty in differentiating antemortem and postmortem events. However, in many such scenarios, PMCT and autopsy play a complementary role in arriving at conclusions, and we believe understanding the benefits and role in trauma is imperative considering the expanding usage of PMCT.