Computed tomography-aided diagnosis of COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is highly infectious, has spread worldwide, and has a relatively high mortality rate. Early diagnosis and timely isolation are essential to control the spread of COVID-19. Computed tomography (CT) is considered to be an effective tool for the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 and plays a key role in diagnosis, clinical course monitoring, and the evaluation of treatment outcomes. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a useful technology for early diagnosis, lesion quantification, and prognosis evaluation in patients with COVID-19. In this review, we discuss the role of CT in the diagnosis of COVID-19, typical CT manifestations of COVID-19 throughout the disease course, differential diagnoses, and the application of AI as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in this patient population.