hankyoreh

Park Jin-hee, a radiographer at Daegu Medical Center. (provided by Park)

“We’ve got an emergency call!”

It was after 1 pm, and “K,” a 24-year-old in his second year as a radiographer, was just beginning a meal at the cafeteria when the urgent message came through. “Emergency call” messages from medical staff to radiographers mean that a patient with severe symptoms requires emergency X-ray imaging. K immediately set down his utensils and hurried to suit up with Level D protective gear. The gear alone was cumbersome enough, but he also needed to wear a shield over top to protect against radiation. Thus equipped, K and his colleagues headed for the novel coronavirus negative pressure ward while pushing their mobile radiation equipment, which weighs around 500kg, on wheeled transporters. In the month since Daegu saw an explosive increase in coronavirus cases, this has become K’s daily routine: unable to eat meals on time, sleep, or rest while performing chest radiography for close to 200 patients a day.

According to accounts on Mar. 18 from K and two other radiographers in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province who agreed to talk to the Hankyoreh, work volumes have risen by as much as double in the past month. In January alone, K performed X-rays on an average of 80 people per day. The soaring workload has left no time for rest. Workers operate on three shifts a day with no days off; twice a week, each must perform night duty, which requires them to remain up all night.

“Since the coronavirus [outbreak], the number of radiography cases has risen from the dozens to an average of over 100 a day,” said Park Jin-hee, a 57-year-old radiographer at Daegu Medical Center, which is operating as a dedicated coronavirus hospital.

The reason for the spike in the radiographers’ workload has to do with the nature of the coronavirus, which often causes pneumonia. When the sides of the lungs appear white on chest X-rays, the case often involves either pneumonia or a coronavirus infection. This means that radiography is needed to more accurately diagnose those who are infected with the virus but show no symptoms, or to observe progress in coronavirus patients suffering from pneumonia.

“Diagnosis accuracy increased when you combine imaging-based diagnostic methods with existing coronavirus diagnostics,” explained Choi Jeong-hyeon, a professor of infectious diseases at the Catholic University of Korea Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital.

“Chest radiography is an important means of diagnosis for respiratory ailments such as the pneumonia that accompanies the coronavirus,” Choi stressed.

Even more fearsome than the mounting workload is the threat of radiation exposure. Typically, radiography takes place in a radiation chamber that offers good protection against radiation. But because patients with severe coronavirus symptoms cannot leave the negative pressure ward, radiographers must bring in the mobile equipment themselves when chest imaging is needed.

They wear shielding to prevent direct exposure to radiation -- but with the large amount of work that they have to do, the fear is something there is no shield for.

“Even with the shielding, some of the radiographers are worried about radiation exposure because of all the patients who require imaging with the mobile equipment,” Park Jin-hee explained.

Wearing shielding on top of Level D protective clothing takes a large toll on the body.

“The anti-contamination suit alone leaves you soaked in sweat, but doing your job with two forms of clothing on is an enormous strain,” Park said.

K said, “It’s difficult to work because of the reduced mobility. Sometimes when I’m busy and have a lot of work to do, I’ll just wear the Level D protective suit without the shielding.”

Preventing burnout among the radiographers will require more staffing. One radiographer serving as a team leader at a hospital in the Daegu/North Gyeongsang area said, “Some of the places don’t have volunteers working on radiography duties, so the hospitals’ own radiographers have continued to do the additional work on their own.”

Lee Hyeon-yong, vice president of the Korean Radiological Technologists Association, said, “Over 80 radiographers have gone into self-isolation due to reasons including contact with confirmed coronavirus patients.”

“The loss of the existing workforce has left us short-handed,” Lee explained, stressing that there “needs to be additional staffing, especially among the coronavirus base hospitals.”

By Park Jun-yong, staff reporter

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