A Literature Review on the Relative Diagnostic Accuracy of Chest CT Scans versus RT-PCR Testing for COVID-19 Diagnosis.

IF 2.2 4区医学 Q2 RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING

Tomography Pub Date : 2024-06-14 DOI:10.3390/tomography10060071

Hafez Al-Momani

{"title":"A Literature Review on the Relative Diagnostic Accuracy of Chest CT Scans versus RT-PCR Testing for COVID-19 Diagnosis.","authors":"Hafez Al-Momani","doi":"10.3390/tomography10060071","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the main technique used to identify COVID-19 from respiratory samples. It has been suggested in several articles that chest CTs could offer a possible alternate diagnostic tool for COVID-19; however, no professional medical body recommends using chest CTs as an early COVID-19 detection modality. This literature review examines the use of CT scans as a diagnostic tool for COVID-19.Method: A comprehensive search of research works published in peer-reviewed journals was carried out utilizing precisely stated criteria. The search was limited to English-language publications, and studies of COVID-19-positive patients diagnosed using both chest CT scans and RT-PCR tests were sought. For this review, four databases were consulted: these were the Cochrane and ScienceDirect catalogs, and the CINAHL and Medline databases made available by EBSCOhost.Findings: In total, 285 possibly pertinent studies were found during an initial search. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, six studies remained for analysis. According to the included studies, chest CT scans were shown to have a 44 to 98% sensitivity and 25 to 96% specificity in terms of COVID-19 diagnosis. However, methodological limitations were identified in all studies included in this review.Conclusion: RT-PCR is still the suggested first-line diagnostic technique for COVID-19; while chest CT is adequate for use in symptomatic patients, it is not a sufficiently robust diagnostic tool for the primary screening of COVID-19.","PeriodicalId":51330,"journal":{"name":"Tomography","volume":"10 6","pages":"935-948"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11209112/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Tomography","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/tomography10060071","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the main technique used to identify COVID-19 from respiratory samples. It has been suggested in several articles that chest CTs could offer a possible alternate diagnostic tool for COVID-19; however, no professional medical body recommends using chest CTs as an early COVID-19 detection modality. This literature review examines the use of CT scans as a diagnostic tool for COVID-19.

Method: A comprehensive search of research works published in peer-reviewed journals was carried out utilizing precisely stated criteria. The search was limited to English-language publications, and studies of COVID-19-positive patients diagnosed using both chest CT scans and RT-PCR tests were sought. For this review, four databases were consulted: these were the Cochrane and ScienceDirect catalogs, and the CINAHL and Medline databases made available by EBSCOhost.

Findings: In total, 285 possibly pertinent studies were found during an initial search. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, six studies remained for analysis. According to the included studies, chest CT scans were shown to have a 44 to 98% sensitivity and 25 to 96% specificity in terms of COVID-19 diagnosis. However, methodological limitations were identified in all studies included in this review.

Conclusion: RT-PCR is still the suggested first-line diagnostic technique for COVID-19; while chest CT is adequate for use in symptomatic patients, it is not a sufficiently robust diagnostic tool for the primary screening of COVID-19.

查看原文本刊更多论文

胸部 CT 扫描与 RT-PCR 检测对 COVID-19 诊断的相对诊断准确性文献综述。

背景：逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）是用于从呼吸道样本中鉴定 COVID-19 的主要技术。一些文章认为，胸部 CT 可作为 COVID-19 的替代诊断工具；但是，没有专业医疗机构建议将胸部 CT 作为 COVID-19 的早期检测方式。本文献综述探讨了使用 CT 扫描作为 COVID-19 的诊断工具：方法：采用明确的标准对同行评审期刊上发表的研究成果进行了全面检索。搜索仅限于英文出版物，并寻找通过胸部 CT 扫描和 RT-PCR 测试诊断出 COVID-19 阳性患者的研究。本综述参考了四个数据库：Cochrane 和 ScienceDirect 目录，以及 EBSCOhost.Findings 提供的 CINAHL 和 Medline 数据库：初步搜索共发现 285 项可能相关的研究。在应用纳入和排除标准后，剩下六项研究可供分析。根据纳入的研究，胸部 CT 扫描对 COVID-19 诊断的敏感性为 44% 至 98%，特异性为 25% 至 96%。然而，本综述所纳入的所有研究都存在方法上的局限性：结论：RT-PCR 仍是建议的 COVID-19 一线诊断技术；虽然胸部 CT 足以用于有症状的患者，但它并不是用于 COVID-19 初筛的足够可靠的诊断工具。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Tomography Medicine-Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

10.50%

发文量

222

期刊介绍： TomographyTM publishes basic (technical and pre-clinical) and clinical scientific articles which involve the advancement of imaging technologies. Tomography encompasses studies that use single or multiple imaging modalities including for example CT, US, PET, SPECT, MR and hyperpolarization technologies, as well as optical modalities (i.e. bioluminescence, photoacoustic, endomicroscopy, fiber optic imaging and optical computed tomography) in basic sciences, engineering, preclinical and clinical medicine. Tomography also welcomes studies involving exploration and refinement of contrast mechanisms and image-derived metrics within and across modalities toward the development of novel imaging probes for image-based feedback and intervention. The use of imaging in biology and medicine provides unparalleled opportunities to noninvasively interrogate tissues to obtain real-time dynamic and quantitative information required for diagnosis and response to interventions and to follow evolving pathological conditions. As multi-modal studies and the complexities of imaging technologies themselves are ever increasing to provide advanced information to scientists and clinicians. Tomography provides a unique publication venue allowing investigators the opportunity to more precisely communicate integrated findings related to the diverse and heterogeneous features associated with underlying anatomical, physiological, functional, metabolic and molecular genetic activities of normal and diseased tissue. Thus Tomography publishes peer-reviewed articles which involve the broad use of imaging of any tissue and disease type including both preclinical and clinical investigations. In addition, hardware/software along with chemical and molecular probe advances are welcome as they are deemed to significantly contribute towards the long-term goal of improving the overall impact of imaging on scientific and clinical discovery.