Purpose: Chest computed tomography (CT) is considered a reliable imaging tool for COVID-19 pneumonia diagnosis, while lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a potential alternative to characterize lung involvement. The aim of the study was to compare diagnostic performance of admission chest CT and LUS for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Methods: We included patients admitted to emergency department between February 21-March 6, 2020 (high prevalence group, HP) and between March 30-April 13, 2020 (moderate prevalence group, MP) undergoing LUS and chest CT within 12 h. Chest CT was considered positive in case of “indeterminate”/“typical” pattern for COVID-19 by RSNA classification system. At LUS, thickened pleural line with ≥ three B-lines at least in one zone of the 12 explored was considered positive. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC were calculated for CT and LUS against real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and serology as reference standard. Results: The study included 486 patients (males 61 %; median age, 70 years): 247 patients in HP (COVID-19 prevalence 94 %) and 239 patients in MP (COVID-19 prevalence 45 %). In HP and MP respectively, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 90–95 %, 43–69 %, 96−72 %, 20–95 % for CT and 94−93 %, 7–31 %, 94−52 %, 7–83 % for LUS. CT demonstrated better performance than LUS in diagnosis of COVID-19, both in HP (AUC 0.75 vs 0.51; P < 0.001) and MP (AUC 0.85 vs 0.62; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Admission chest CT shows better performance than LUS for COVID-19 diagnosis, at varying disease prevalence. LUS is highly sensitive, but not specific for COVID-19.

Comparison of admission chest computed tomography and lung ultrasound performance for diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia in populations with different disease prevalence / Colombi, D.; Petrini, M.; Maffi, G.; Villani, G. D.; Bodini, F. C.; Morelli, N.; Milanese, G.; Silva, M.; Sverzellati, N.; Michieletti, E.. - In: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY. - ISSN 0720-048X. - 133:(2020), p. 109344. [10.1016/j.ejrad.2020.109344]

Comparison of admission chest computed tomography and lung ultrasound performance for diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia in populations with different disease prevalence

Colombi D.
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
Milanese G.
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Silva M.
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Sverzellati N.
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2020-01-01

Abstract

Purpose: Chest computed tomography (CT) is considered a reliable imaging tool for COVID-19 pneumonia diagnosis, while lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a potential alternative to characterize lung involvement. The aim of the study was to compare diagnostic performance of admission chest CT and LUS for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Methods: We included patients admitted to emergency department between February 21-March 6, 2020 (high prevalence group, HP) and between March 30-April 13, 2020 (moderate prevalence group, MP) undergoing LUS and chest CT within 12 h. Chest CT was considered positive in case of “indeterminate”/“typical” pattern for COVID-19 by RSNA classification system. At LUS, thickened pleural line with ≥ three B-lines at least in one zone of the 12 explored was considered positive. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC were calculated for CT and LUS against real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and serology as reference standard. Results: The study included 486 patients (males 61 %; median age, 70 years): 247 patients in HP (COVID-19 prevalence 94 %) and 239 patients in MP (COVID-19 prevalence 45 %). In HP and MP respectively, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 90–95 %, 43–69 %, 96−72 %, 20–95 % for CT and 94−93 %, 7–31 %, 94−52 %, 7–83 % for LUS. CT demonstrated better performance than LUS in diagnosis of COVID-19, both in HP (AUC 0.75 vs 0.51; P < 0.001) and MP (AUC 0.85 vs 0.62; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Admission chest CT shows better performance than LUS for COVID-19 diagnosis, at varying disease prevalence. LUS is highly sensitive, but not specific for COVID-19.
2020
Comparison of admission chest computed tomography and lung ultrasound performance for diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia in populations with different disease prevalence / Colombi, D.; Petrini, M.; Maffi, G.; Villani, G. D.; Bodini, F. C.; Morelli, N.; Milanese, G.; Silva, M.; Sverzellati, N.; Michieletti, E.. - In: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY. - ISSN 0720-048X. - 133:(2020), p. 109344. [10.1016/j.ejrad.2020.109344]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11381/2881314
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