Chest computed tomography in coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia subjects: Call for judicious use

Abstract

Since the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of patients undergoing chest computed tomography (CT). More than 689 million cases have been infected by COVID-19 worldwide till date, of whom many were subjected to CT scanning. Several national and international bodies recommended against the routine use of chest CT for COVID-19 cases. However, evidence points to overuse. This review attempts to briefly describe when and why a chest CT is clinically indicated for COVID-19 patients to judicious use and enhance the benefit–risk ratio.