Diagnosis of COVID-19 Based on Radiological and Clinical Features: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Introduction: The diagnosis of COVID-19 is guided by clinical features and radiological findings of ground glass appearance, but the result should be confirmed by RT-PCR with 66-80% sensitivity. This review aimed to evaluate the evidence regarding diagnosis of COVID-19 based on the radiological and clinical features.
Methods A systematic review of the literature was carried out to identify relevant articles using six different databases. Only studies which reported data on pre-defined outcomes were included. Epidemiological studies published in 2020 (from January–March) on the clinical presentation, laboratory findings and treatments of COVID-19 patients were identified from PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase databases. Studies published 2020-2022 were included. Primary outcomes included comorbidities of COVID-19 patients, laboratory results and radiological outcomes.
Results: , the chest CT is widely used to find the infected person through diagnostic imaging. The CT is performed only on the person who has been infected severely. In many positive patients, pulmonary consolidation is observed, and based on that, the infected patients are quarantined. In addition, few patients were observed with a decrease in WBC and lymphocytes. The CT diagnosis employed to the COVID-19 positive patients based on the RT-PCR results. CT imaging is done based on a 4-day interval to monitor the function of the respiratory syndrome. CT scans are usually conducted on a single respiratory phase. To reduce the uncertainties, the patients are advised to hold breath during CT imaging.

Conclusions: COVID-19 can be identified with higher precision using CT than RT-PCR. Further, the diagnosis of infection is possible by identifying the GGO and consolidation along the subpleural area of the lung. Identification of infected patients using CT can be more efficient to enable the prevention of infection transmission.