Correlation between HRCT Findings of Symptomatic COVID-19 Patient with RT-PCR Test in a Tertiary Hospital of Bangladesh

Mymensingh Med J. 2022 Jan;31(1):200-207.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a global calamity and affected millions of lives around the world. Even though the vaccination efforts have started, they are yet to have an effective impact on the lower to middle-income countries. Early detection and isolation are still the best way to control the spread of the virus. The standard practice for detecting COVID-19 is the RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test but this test has a high probability of producing false-negative results plus lack of availability at all the time due to shortage of kit. Since COVID-19 is a respiratory disease affecting the lungs and the imaging patterns caused by COVID-19 can be observed in chest HRCT (High Resolution Computed Tomography) scans. As a result, HRCT can be used as an alternative diagnostic modality for any suspected cases of COVID-19. In this cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Radiology and Imaging, BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh from May 12, 2020 to August 10, 2020. Chest HRCT scans of 284 suspected patients irrespective of age and sex who had done RT-PCR test either positive or negative test result having symptoms suggesting COVID pneumonia were enrolled in this study. Patients who had not done RT-PCR and who were not willing to do HRCT chest were excluded. According to the study, ground glass opacity is the most common feature and found in 89.44% of patients. The other predominant features were including consolidation, crazy paving, fibrotic density and vascular enlargement. The diagnostic performance of the CT scan was also evaluated using the RT-PCR test result as the gold standard and the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the CT scan diagnosis were found to be 83.2%, 50% and 79.9% respectively. The severity of the five lung lobes has also been studied. The right middle lobe and the left upper lobe seemed to be in more severe condition for most of the patients compared to the other lung lobes.

MeSH terms

  • Bangladesh
  • COVID-19*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Lung / diagnostic imaging
  • Pandemics
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Tertiary Care Centers
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed