Detection of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) using Radiological Examinations
consolidation, real-time polymerase chain reaction, Ground glass opacity, Computed tomography scanning, COVID-19
An outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in China. The causative agent of COVID-19is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease rapidly spreads fromChina to the world by trading and traveling. Until April 24, 2020, approximately 2,544,792 cases wereconfirmed with 175,694 deaths throughout the world. The highest number of cases were identifiedfrom the United States of America (USA) whereas the mortality rate is high in Portugal. The diagnosis ofCOVID-19 is based on Computed Tomography Scanning (CT Scan) and Real-Time Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Assessing the extension of pathology, the exact location of thearea involved, and assessment of the disease severity makes CT scan superior to other modalities. Thisreview shows that real-time polymerase chain reaction and imaging technology both play an importantrole in the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, imaging modalities have more importance in diagnosisand screening than qRT-PCR. The qRT-PCR was positive in 81.3% whereas CT scan abnormality wasobserved in 89.8%. Bilateral lobe (51.4%) abnormality was found more than a single lobe (21.5%) inCOVID-19 infected patients. The CT scan reports show a high-level abnormality in right lower lung lobethan others in COVID-19 infected patients. The CT scan evaluates different manifestations such as thepresence of ground-glass opacities, consolidations, crazy paying linear, cavitation, discrete nodules,pleural effusion, and lymphadenopathy. It is concluded that imaging technology especially CT scan andX-rays play an important role in the screening and diagnosis of COVID-19 infected patients in limitedaccess to qRT-PCR regions. The common radiological manifestation was also determined, which willbe helpful for the radiologist to diagnosed COVID-19 infected patients in the early stages. Follow upstudies required regarding the radiological examinations.
Anees Muhammad, Muhammad Shahzeb, Areena Khan
Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology