Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volume of laboratory testing

Introduction: this single-center retrospective analysis was aimed to investigate the burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on utilization of laboratory resources. Methods: a retrospective analysis was conducted in the database of the Management Control Unit of the Pederzoli hospital in Peschiera del Garda (Verona, Italy), to retrieve information on the volume of total and some specific laboratory tests performed in the year range 2018-2022. Results: the mean yearly volume of total tests has increased by 10% during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, by 5% without considering SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests. The peak over the reference year 2018 was reached in 2021 (+19%, +12% without SARS-CoV-2 tests), but the volume remained high in 2022 (+16%; +11% without SARS-CoV-2 tests). The requests for D-dimer, vitamin D, blood culture, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) tests increased in the pandemic period (between 19-57%), those of white blood cell count (WBC) count, plasma glucose and creatinine remained almost unvaried (between -3% to 2%), whilst those for cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) declined (-17% and -19%, respectively). Conclusion: the COVID-19 pandemic has had remarkable impact on laboratory activity, by increasing the demand for certain tests whose increment has remained even after the emergency period, and by decreasing the demand for other tests perhaps attributable to social limitations and modified demography (i.e., death of older people).