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Lung CT Segmentation to Identify Consolidations and Ground Glass Areas for Quantitative Assesment of SARS-CoV Pneumonia
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Lung CT Segmentation to Identify Consolidations and Ground Glass Areas for Quantitative Assesment of SARS-CoV Pneumonia

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A low-dose chest CT protocol for the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia: a prospective study

Seyed Mohammad Hossein Tabatabaei1, Hamidreza Talari1, Ali Gholamrezanezhad2

  • 1Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

Emergency Radiology
|August 14, 2020
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

A low-dose (30-mAs) chest CT protocol accurately detects COVID-19 pneumonia, significantly reducing radiation exposure and cancer risk compared to standard-dose (150-mAs) protocols. This makes it a reliable option for routine practice.

Area of Science:

  • Radiology
  • Medical Imaging
  • Pulmonology

Background:

  • Chest CT scans are increasingly used for COVID-19 pneumonia diagnosis.
  • There is a need for reduced radiation dose protocols without compromising diagnostic accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a low-dose (30-mAs) chest CT protocol for COVID-19 pneumonia.
  • To compare this low-dose protocol against a standard-dose (150-mAs) protocol.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study involving laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients aged 50+ with normal chest X-rays.
  • Standard-dose (150-mAs) CT performed first, followed by low-dose (30-mAs) CT if typical features were present.
  • Comparison of diagnostic accuracy for typical COVID-19 pneumonia features between the two protocols.

Main Results:

  • Twenty patients (mean age 64.2) were enrolled.
  • Excellent intrareader agreement (ICC 0.98-0.99) for detecting COVID-19 pneumonia findings between low-dose and standard-dose CT.
  • Mean effective dose reduced from 6.60 ± 1.47 mSv (standard) to 1.80 ± 0.42 mSv (low-dose).
  • Estimated absolute cancer risk significantly decreased with the low-dose protocol.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed low-dose (30-mAs) chest CT protocol is reliable for detecting COVID-19 pneumonia.
  • This protocol offers a significant reduction in radiation dose and estimated cancer risk.
  • The low-dose CT protocol is suitable for daily clinical practice in managing COVID-19 pneumonia.
Keywords:
COVID-19 pneumoniaCancer riskComputed tomographyDiagnosisLow-dose

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