Chest CT--The gatekeeper to COVID-19 / 医学研究生学报

ABSTRACT

In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2）emerged in Wuhan and spread rapidly throughout China and beyond. As the first-line imaging modality, thin-section chest CT is easy to perform, fast, available. Combined with epidemiological history and clinical manifestations, positive CT findings can highly suggest the early diagnosis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with high sensitivity, so that timely isolation and intervention can be implemented for suspected and confirmed patients. CT can also help assess the disease severity, and surveil disease course, so as to guide clinical decision and provide prognostic information. This paper outlines the CT imaging features of COVID-19 and highlights the value of chest CT in its diagnosis and treatment with the reference to the official documents and latest researches.