Diagnostic Performance of Chest CT-Scan and First RT-PCR Testing for COVID-19 in Iranian Population

Abstract

Regarding the limitations of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the importance of early diagnosis of COVID-19 in reducing mor- bidity and mortality of disease and prevention of further spread, using a faster method with higher sensitivity is essential (1). In COVID-19 diagno- sis, chest computed tomography (chest CT) scan, a routine imaging tool that frequently is used for pneumonia diagnosis, compared with RT-PCR, is faster and has a higher sensitivity and is relatively easy to perform (2). Therefore, chest CT findings might be present in patients with negative initial RT-PCR results but with clinical symptoms and guide physicians for performing the second RT- PCR in these patients. Nevertheless, chest CT scan has low specificity in COVD-19 detection on the account of nonspecific findings of COVID-19 such as ground-glass opacity (GGO) that overlap with those of other viral types of pneumonia