September 2020 Vol. 8 No.9

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Original Research Article

Sensitivity of Portable Chest X-ray and CT for COVID-19 Patients (in Low-Resource Settings)

Dr. Malakhat J. Sultanova^1*, Dr. Kamal S. Akbarov²

¹Educational - Surgical Clinic of Azerbaijan Medical University, Radiology Department
²National Centre of Oncology, Department of Radiotherapy.

Co-author Email: kamal.akbarov@gmail.com

*Corresponding Author's Email: smalakhat@yahoo.com
Tel: + 994502093395

Received: 02 September 2020  I  Accepted: 21 September 2020  I  Published: 27 September 2020  I  Article ID: MRJMMS-20-147
Copyright © 2020 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the capabilities of chest x-ray and Computed Tomography (CT) equipment in the diagnosis and monitoring of changes in the lungs in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In this study we analyzed radiological investigation (chest x-ray and CT) results of 50 RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients, treated in Azerbaijan Medical University clinic between 01 April 2020 and 20 April 2020. Chest x-ray was performed according to standard protocols in digital mode by mobile x-ray unit. CT was performed according to standard local protocols in native mode, images were acquired by 1 mm slices both in lung and soft tissue windows. Sensitivity of both radiological methods was calculated compared to RT-PCR results. The most common finding in chest X-ray were ground-glass opacities (64%) and consolidation (24%). Sensitivity of chest x-ray for COVID-19 infection was 88% (44/50, 95% CI 75.7% - 95.5%). The most common finding in chest CT also were ground-glass opacities (72%) and consolidation (24%). Sensitivity of chest CT for COVID-19 infection was 96% (48/50, 95% CI 86.3% to 99.5%). Despite the lower sensitivity of portable x-ray examination (88%) in comparison with CT (96%), it is recommended to be performed in each patient and is suitable for use in dynamic observations, particularly considering it’s accessibility, transportability and ease of use.

Keywords: COVID-19, portable X-ray, pneumonia, chest CT, chest x-ray