Comparing the Sensitivity and Specificity of Lung CT-scan with RT-PCR for Diagnosis of COVID-19

• Published in: Current medical imaging reviews Vol. 19; no. 4; p. 327
• Main Authors: Asghari, Akram, Adeli, Seyed-Hasan, Parham, Mahmoud, Bagherzade, Mohammad, Ahmadpour, Sajjad, Shajari, Rasoul, Tabarrai, Reihane, Shakeri, Masoumeh, Habibi, Mohammad Amin, Jabbari, Amir, Jafari, Saeede, Razavinia, Fatemesadat, Foroghi Ghomi, Seyed Yaser, Ebrazeh, Ali, Vafaeimanesh, Jamshid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United Arab Emirates 01.01.2023
• Subjects: COVID-19 - diagnostic imaging; COVID-19 Testing; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Lung - diagnostic imaging; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; SARS-CoV-2; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; COVID-19; specificity; diagnosis; sensitivity; CT scan; RT-PCR
• ISSN: 1573-4056
• DOI: 10.2174/1573405618666220620141012

The lung is one of the major organs affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Lung CT scan and RT-PCR are the most valuable diagnostic methods in the early diagnosis and management of COVID-19. Due to the possible inconsistency of the false-negative results for the RT-PCR test, in our study, we aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of lung CT-scan as an accurate diagnostic method of COVID-19. In this cross-sectional study, patients suspected of COVID-19 and referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Qom city from February 26 to April 13, 2020, were enrolled. For a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19, chest CT scan and RT-PCR testing was performed for 644 patients, and both sensitivity and specificity of lung CT scan were evaluated. According to the findings, and comparing to the RT-PCR test as the gold standard, sensitivity, specificity as well as, positive predictive and negative predictive values of lung CT-scan were found as follow; 94.47% (95% CI: 90.73 - 97.02%), 24.71% (95% CI: 20.70 - 29.07%), 40.73% (95% CI: 36.58 - 44.99%), 89.08% (95% CI: 82.4 - 94.05%), respectively. According to the findings, the lung CT scan has a better diagnostic value than RTPCR in symptomatic patients who were referred to the hospital for COVID-19 diagnosis. Performing lung CT-scan in patients with negative RT-PCR tests should be assessed.