ROLE OF CT SCAN IN COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT
Since the second massive wave of COVID-19 hit India in early April, there is so much going on with lots of questions regarding use of CT scan in diagnosis and management of patients. We will try to solve queries regarding the same here – 1. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but it should not be used indiscriminately in every patient. 2. It should be done only if the Doctor prescribes it seeing the clinical situation of patient. 3. It is not a useful tool in early days of disease as it often comes normal and gives false reassurance to patients. 4. It is usually advised in the progressive and peak stage of the disease (6-13 days) if your treating physician prescribes so. 5. It is useful in a small subset of COVID-19 suspects who test negative on (RT-PCR) with normal/indeterminate chest X-ray (CXR) but have moderate-to-severe respiratory symptoms and high index of clinical suspicion. 6. CT ...