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Published on: December 19, 2020
Diagnostic role of chest computed tomography in coronavirus disease 2019
Piotr Jędrusik1, Zbigniew Gaciong2, Katarzyna Sklinda3
1Department of Internal Medicine, Hypertension and Vascular Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. pjedrusik@wum.edu.pl
Insights
Chest CT scans aid in diagnosing COVID-19 lung infections when RT-PCR tests are insufficient. This imaging technique helps evaluate disease extent and monitor activity, offering a valuable presumptive diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Radiology
- Pulmonology
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to a global pandemic.
- Standard diagnosis relies on real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing.
- Chest imaging, particularly CT, is crucial for managing respiratory manifestations of COVID-19.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the diagnostic utility of chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with COVID-19.
- To highlight the role of CT in detecting and evaluating pulmonary lesions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on the diagnostic role of chest CT in COVID-19 patients.
- Analysis of how CT findings correlate with disease severity and activity.
Main Results:
- Chest CT is vital for detecting viral lung infection and assessing the extent of pulmonary lesions in COVID-19.
- CT imaging plays a significant role in monitoring disease activity, especially in severe cases.
- The diagnostic value of CT increases when RT-PCR testing is inaccurate or limited during outbreaks.
Conclusions:
- Chest CT offers a valuable tool for the presumptive diagnosis of COVID-19, particularly when RT-PCR is insufficient.
- CT imaging provides essential information for evaluating lung involvement and guiding patient management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) is an infectious disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), that appeared in China in December 2019 and spread globally, evolving into the currently observed pandemic. The laboratory diagnosis of SARS‑CoV‑2 infection is currently based on real‑time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR) testing, and imaging cannot replace genetic testing in patients with suspected COVID‑19. However, with predominant respiratory manifestations of COVID‑19, particularly in more severe cases, chest imaging using computed tomography (CT) plays a major role in detecting viral lung infection, evaluating the nature and extent of pulmonary lesions, and monitoring the disease activity. The role of chest CT as a diagnostic tool may be increased when the laboratory testing capacities using RT‑PCR prove inaccurate or insufficient during a major outbreak of the disease. In these settings, a rapid presumptive diagnosis of COVID‑19 potentially offered by CT might be an advantage, in addition to obvious benefits of delineating the nature and extent of pulmonary lesions. In the present paper, we reviewed the diagnostic role of chest CT in patients with COVID‑19.
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