Diagnostic performance of deep learning models versus radiologists in COVID-19 pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Purpose: Although several studies have compared the performance of deep learning (DL) models and radiologists for the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia on CT of the chest, these results have not been collectively evaluated. We performed a meta -analysis of original articles comparing the performance of DL models versus radiologists in detecting COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: A systematic search was conducted on the three main medical literature databases, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, for articles published as of February 1st, 2023. We included original scientific articles that compared DL models trained to detect COVID-19 pneumonia on CT to radiologists. Meta -analysis was performed to determine DL versus radiologist performance in terms of model sensitivity and specificity, taking into account inter and intra-study heterogeneity. Results: Twenty-two articles met the inclusion criteria. Based on the meta -analytic calculations, DL models had significantly higher pooled sensitivity (0.933 vs. 0.829, p < 0.001) compared to radiologists with similar pooled specificity (0.905 vs. 0.897, p = 0.746). In the differentiation of COVID-19 versus community -acquired pneumonia, the DL models had significantly higher sensitivity compared to radiologists (0.915 vs. 0.836, p = 0.001). Conclusions: DL models have high performance for screening of COVID-19 pneumonia on chest CT, offering the possibility of these models for augmenting radiologists in clinical practice.