From the November 2020 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
The rise in CT procedures was especially clear in emergency medicine, with about half of CT scans being performed on an emergency basis. An additional 30% were performed on outpatients, according to the study.
Chest CT emerges as early COVID-19 diagnostic tool
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from Wuhan, China published findings in
Radiology showing that
chest CT scans were more efficient than the lab tests available at the time for confirming a diagnosis.
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Encompassing more than 1,000 patients, the assessment deemed CT to be the primary screening tool for COVID-19. At a time when therapeutic treatments and testing capabilities were in their infancy, imaging represented an invaluable tool for identifying and isolating infected patients from the healthy population.
The Chinese government began recognizing CT diagnoses for the coronavirus in February, having initially only recognized those confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or gene sequencing for respiratory or blood specimens. Such tests were limited in sample collection, transportation and kit performance, with the total positive rate of RT-PCR for throat swab samples about 30%-60% at initial presentation. The low sensitivity of RT-PCR meant that a large number of COVID-19 patients would not be identified quickly and receive appropriate treatment, creating the risk of the virus spreading.
"Early diagnosis of COVID-19 is crucial for disease treatment and control,” wrote the researchers. “Compared to RT-PCR, chest CT imaging may be a more reliable, practical and rapid method to diagnose and assess COVID-19, especially in the epidemic area."
Around that time, early in the outbreak, CT equipment manufacturers like Siemens, GE, Canon, United Imaging Healthcare and Philips, donated millions of dollars in CT scanners and other equipment to support standard and makeshift hospitals diagnose patients quickly.
Meanwhile, Chinese and American researchers were collaborating to create a special report to educate radiologists on what signs to look for on CT scans when examining patients suspected of carrying the disease.
