Developing a Screening Procedure During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Process and Challenges Faced by a Low-Incidence Area.
Front Med (Lausanne)
; 8: 654754, 2021.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35004708
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
To summarize the imaging results of COVID-19 pneumonia and develop a computerized tomography (CT) screening procedure for patients at our institution with malignant tumors.Methods:
Following epidemiological investigation, 1,429 patients preparing to undergo anti-tumor-treatment underwent CT scans between February 17 and April 16, 2020. When CT findings showed suspected COVID-19 pneumonia after the supervisor radiologist and the thoracic experience radiologist had double-read the initial CT images, radiologists would report the result to our hospital infection control staff. Further necessary examinations, including the RT-PCR test, in the assigned hospital was strongly recommended for patients with positive CT results. The CT examination room would perform sterilization for 30 min to 1 h. If the negative results of any suspected COVID-19 pneumonia CT findings were identified, the radiologists would upload the results to our Hospital Information Systems and inform clinicians within 2 h.Results:
Fifty (0.35%, 50/1,429) suspected pneumonia cases, including 29 males and 21 females (median age 59.5 years old; age range 27-79 years), were identified. A total of 34.0% (17/50) of the patients had a history of lung cancer and 54.0 (27/50) underwent chemotherapy or targeted therapy. Forty-six patients (92.0%) had prior CT scans, and 35 patients (76.1%) with suspected pneumonia were newly seen (median interval time 62 days). Sub-pleura small patchy or strip-like lesions most likely due to fibrosis or hypostatic pneumonia and cluster of nodular lesions were the two main signs of suspected cases on CT images (34, 68.0%). Twenty-seven patients (54.0%) had, at least once, follow-up CT scan (median interval time 18.0 days). Only one patient had an increase in size (interval time 8 days), the immediately RT-PCR test result was negative.Conclusion:
CT may be useful as a screening tool for COVID-19 based on imaging features. But the differential diagnosis between COVID-19 and other pulmonary infection and/or non-infectious disease is very difficult due to its overlapping imaging features.The confirmed diagnosis of the COVID-19 infection should be based on the etiologic eventually. The cancer patients at a low-incidence area would continue treatment by screening carefully before admission.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Screening_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Front Med (Lausanne)
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China