Evaluation of low-dose CT protocol of novel coronavirus pneumonia based on infection prevention and control / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore a low dose CT scanning method on novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia based on infection prevention and control.Methods:A total of 140 patients with confirmed novel coronavirus pneumonia in Xiehe hospital from January 20, 2020 to February 28, 2020 were undertaken CT scan and divided into low dose group and conventional dose group. The patients in low dose group(120 kV, 31 mAs) consisted of mild type(51), severe type(15) and critically ill type(4); and those in conventional dose group(120 kv, adaptive milliampere second) consisted of mild type(48), severe type(17) and critically ill type(5). The effective radiation dose, SNR and CNR of CT scan were compared between two groups. A senior and a middle radiologist made the image subjective quality scores, respectively.Results:The effective dose in low dose group was lower than that of conventional dose group( t=-48.343, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in SNR and CNR between two groups( P>0.05). For severe and critically ill patients, the score in low dose group was significantly lower than that in conventional dose group( t=-2.781, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in scores between two groups for mild patients( P>0.05). Conclusions:Low-dose CT scanning could meet the image quality needs for patients with COVID-19 and meanwhile significantly reduce the radiation dose.