Disruption of laboratory activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of an EFLM Task Force Preparation of Labs for Emergencies (TF-PLE) survey

Giuseppe Lippi; Janne Cadamuro; Elisa Danese; Emmanuel J Favaloro; Julien Favresse; Brandon M Henry; Snezana Jovicic; Tomris Ozben; Mario Plebani; Jecko Thachil

Disruption of laboratory activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of an EFLM Task Force Preparation of Labs for Emergencies (TF-PLE) survey

EJIFCC. 2023 Oct 16;34(3):213-219. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Section of Clinical Biochemistry and School of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
³ Haematology, NSW Health Pathology, Sydney Centres for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, ICPMR, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Services of Clinical Biology, Clinic Saint-Luc, Bouge, Belgium.
⁵ Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, The Heart Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, USA.
⁶ Department for Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
⁷ Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
⁸ University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
⁹ Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) Clinic, Haematology Department, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust - Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK.

PMID: 37868082
PMCID: PMC10588075

Abstract

Background: The EFLM Task Force Preparation of Labs for Emergencies (TF-PLE) created a survey that has been distributed to its members for gathering information on the key hazards experienced by European medical laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The survey was distributed to over 12,000 potential contacts (laboratory workers) via an EFLM newsletter, with responses collected between May 8 and June 8, 2023.

Results: Two hundred replies were collected and examined from European laboratories. 69.7% and 78.1% of all responders said they were short on non-COVID and COVID reagents, respectively. Exactly half of respondents (50.0%) said that they could not complete all laboratory tests required for a specific period, but this figure climbed to 61.2% for COVID tests. Finally, 72.3% of respondents expressed exhaustion during the pandemic, and 61.2% reported increasing patient hostility.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on laboratory medicine in Europe. Cultural change, proactive planning, and even re-engineering in some parts of the laboratory industry may thus be necessary to prepare for future challenges.

Keywords: COVID-19; Laboratory Medicine; SARS-CoV-2; Survey.