Diagnostic Value of Chest CT scan for COVID-19 Suspected Cases and Its Compatibility with RT-PCR Method: A Survey from Jiroft, Iran

Accurate diagnosis of the COVID-19 disease is important. Currently, chest computed tomography (CT) and reverse polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are being used for the diagnosis of the COVID-19 disease. This study was performed to evaluate the Chest computed tomography (CT) diagnostic value in comparison with the RT - PCR method among COVID-19 patients.

This cross-sectional study was performed on suspected cases of COVID-19 in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Jiroft, Iran. Studied patients were evaluated via both a chest CT scan and nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Data was collected using a self-administered checklist, including demographic information, medical history, and symptoms of COVID-19, chest CT scan, and RT-PCR findings. Data were analyzed using SPSS-V21.

One thousand and ninety (1090) cases participated in the study; the mean age of the cases of COVID-19 was 48.20± 7.31 years old. The results of the RT-PCR test were 410 (37.6%) positive and 680 (62.4%) negative cases. According to the results of RT-PCR, which is the gold standard method, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values of chest CT were 98.5%. (99.4-96.8 CI: 95%), 55.7% (59.5 – 51.9 CI: 95%), 71.5% (74.4 -69.0 CI: 95%), 57.3% (60.9 – 53.5 CI: 95%), and 98.4% (99.4% - 99.6 CI: 95%), respectively.

The results of the present study showed that a chest CT scan is highly sensitive for the diagnosis of the COVID-19 disease. Therefore, it can be used as a suitable method for screening and early detection, which requires knowledge of its common radiologic patterns. However, the results showed that the use of this method has low specificity, so it cannot be used for definitive diagnosis and should be used as a complementary method concomitant to the RT - PCR test.