Background: Computed tomography (CT) of the chest is a useful diagnostic adjunct in the management of COVID‑19. It has proven useful in areas where ready access to real‑time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is not readily available. Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the chest CT findings of patients suspected with having COVID‑19 on presenting at the emergency room. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study done in Cedarcrest Hospitals, Abuja, with patient information pooled from patients’ electronic medical records from April to December 2020. Patients were selected based on suspicion of COVID‑19 infection. Suspicion was stratified into high, moderate, and low using an in‑house clinical suspicion score called the Cedarcrest Emergency COVID‑19 Risk Assessment Tool. Patients with background pulmonary pathology or chest trauma were excluded. Plain chest CT scans were performed to evaluate for COVID‑19 pneumonia. Results: CT imaging increased the clinical suspicion of COVID‑19. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between the positive CT findings and the PCR results. Conclusion: Chest CT should be correlated with clinical findings and laboratory results for patient evaluation.
Ajiboye et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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