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Diagnostic accuracy of a structured report for chest computed tomography interpretation during COVID-19 pandemic
Diagnostic accuracy of a structured report for chest computed tomography interpretation during COVID-19 pandemic
Paulina Cardozo 1, Luis Burdet 1, M. Mercedes Serra 2, Horacio Martinetto 3, Hernán Chaves 1, Claudia Cejas 1
1 Departamento de Diagnóstico por Imágenes, Fleni, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2 Universitat de Barcelona y Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, España; 3 Departamento de Neuropatología y Biología Molecular, Fleni, Buenos Aires, Argentina
*Correspondence: Hernán Chaves. Email: hchaves@fleni.org.ar
Abstract
Introduction: The use of chest computed tomography (CT) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or triage in health care settings is controversial. Categorization of the probability of COVID-19 based on non-enhanced chest CT might improve diagnostic performance.
Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a structured report created for COVID-19 detection on non-enhanced chest CT.
Method: A retrospective analysis of chest CT examinations performed for patients suspected of having COVID-19 from April 15 to December 31, 2020 was conducted. The imaging patterns were classified according to a structured report and compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results.
Results: The diagnosis of COVID-19 was made in 13.9% (41/294) of patients using PCR. The “typical” pattern (n = 15) showed a sensitivity of 37% and a specificity of 97% for COVID-19. The “typical” and “indeterminate” patterns combined showed a sensitivity of 51% and a specificity of 83% for COVID-19. Ground-glass opacity and reverse halo sign were associated with a positive PCR result (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: The structured report effectively summarizes the radiological findings associated with COVID-19. Its implementation could be useful for ruling out diseases in public health emergency settings.
Keywords: Multidetector computed tomography. COVID-19. Thorax. Sensitivity and specificity. Communication.
