Chest CT offers the great sensitivity for detecting COVID-19

Objectives:
What is the diagnostic test accuracy of chest CT for detecting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?

Study design:
This review article included 16 studies (n = 3,186 patients). The risks of bias in all studies were moderate in general.

There was substantial heterogeneity according to Cochran's Q test [p  0.01] and Higgins I2 heterogeneity index [96% for sensitivity].

Results and conclusions:   
The investigators found pooled sensitivity of chest CT was 92% [95% CI = 86 to 96% and 2 studies reported specificity of 25% [95% CI = 22 to 30%] and 33% [95% CI = 23 to 44%], respectively).

The investigators found after dividing the studies into 2 groups based on the study site, the sensitivity of chest CT was great in Wuhan (the most affected city by the epidemic) and the sensitivity values were very close to each other (97%, 96% and 99%, respectively).

The investigators found in the regions other than Wuhan, the sensitivity varied from 61 to 98%.

The investigators concluded chest CT offers the great sensitivity for detecting COVID-19, especially in a region with severe epidemic situation. However, the specificity is low. In the context of emergency disease control, chest CT provides a fast, convenient and effective method to early recognize suspicious cases and might contribute to confine epidemic.

Original title:
Chest CT for detecting COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy by Xu B, Xing Y, […], Peng F.

Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32415585

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