The spread of COVID-19 globally continues to spread rapidly each day. As more and more people get infected with this virus daily, the government and healthcare professionals scurry to take down specific numbers of infected individuals, come up with solutions to stop the spread of the disease, and keep people all over the world aware and updated. However, the latest development shows, in regards to the diagnosis of the disease, that CT scans must be used as the primary screening tool for the 2019 novel coronavirus disease.
A study that was published in the journal of Radiology, over 1,000 patients participated and showed researchers that a chest CT is the ideal diagnosis option for COVID-19. Due to the absence of specific vaccines or medications for the virus, early detection of the disease and the immediate isolation of an infected patient are imperative to contain the spread.
RT-PCR Inaccurate
The latest guidelines by the Chinese Government contains information on how COVID-19 must be confirmed, which is by a Reverse-Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). The RT-PCR is a gene sequencing for blood specimens. In the United States, where there has also been a sudden spike in the number of infected patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also using RT-PCR kits, but they were found to be inaccurate as some tests showed false-negative results.
Nancy Messonnier, M.D, the director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC stated, “As we’ve pushed tests out to the state, they did what we would expect as part of the normal procedures, which is doing the verification in their own laboratories. There were problems identified with the test kits. That is a normal part, unfortunately, of these processes. We obviously would not want to use anything but the most perfect possible kits.”
Chest CT Shows Promising Results
Chest CT is a routine imaging tool that is commonly used to diagnose pneumonia. What makes chest CT fitting for COVID-19 diagnosis is that its symptoms are very similar to pneumonia, not to mention that the procedure is fast and easy to perform.
According to the Radiology study, the sensitivity of CT for COVID-19 was higher compared to RT-PCR tests.
Over 1,000 patients underwent the test that took place between January 6 and February 6, 2020. The results showed 59% of the patients had positive RT-PCR results and 88% had positive chest CT scans, which is proof that the sensitivity of chest CT in diagnosing COVID-19 was at 97% based on the positive RT-PCR results.
According to the authors, “About 81 percent of the patients with negative RT-PCR results but positive chest CT scans were re-classified as highly likely or probable cases with COVID-19, by the comprehensive analysis of clinical symptoms, typical CT manifestations and dynamic CT follow-ups.”
Before the study, doctors were heavily relying on a person’s travel history and assessing the symptoms, in the absence of proper diagnostic kits. With the disease reaching nearly 50 countries today, however, travel history and symptoms are becoming irrelevant as COVID-19 may manifest in other physical symptoms, such as abdominal pain.
Browse our website today for more news in the medical industry.
