Open AccessThe Limited Sensitivity of Chest Computed Tomography Relative to Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 Infection
Author(s) -
Joseph Waller,
Isabel Elaine Allen,
Keldon K. Lin,
Michael Diaz,
Travis S. Henry,
Michael D. Hope
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
investigative radiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.33
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1536-0210
pISSN - 0020-9996
DOI - 10.1097/rli.0000000000000700
Subject(s) - medicine , confidence interval , asymptomatic , meta analysis , covid-19 , publication bias , radiology , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Several studies suggest the sensitivity of chest computed tomography (CT) is far greater than that of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in diagnosing COVID-19 patients, and therefore, CT should be included as a primary diagnostic tool. This systematic review aims to stratify studies as high or low risk of bias to determine the true sensitivity of CT for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection according to the unbiased (low risk) studies, a topic of particular importance given the insufficient quantity of RT-PCR kits in many countries. We focus on sensitivity as that is the chief advantage perceived of CT.