ABSTRACT
Background: Even though very useful a routine of CT scan Is not feasible in a pandemic setting due to the large number of patients and lack resources. Therefore if we are able to use chest x-ray scores for assessing the severity of covid-19 pneumonia it could be very useful in taming the pandemic. Methods: A Retrospective study was conducted using data from 118 confirmed cases of covid -19 pneumonia admitted to our hospital from march to august 2021.Chest x-ray of each patient was scored using RALE Score, BRIXIA score and modified chest x-ray score developed at Dr. Soetemo general hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia. These scores were compared with clinical severity of the desease. Results: Among the 118 patients selected 65 (55%) were males and 53(45%) were females. All three scoring systems are significantly correlated with the clinical severity of the disease, with the strengths of correlation in order from the strongest to weakest as rale score (p< 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.865), brixia score (p< 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.852), and Dr. Soetomo General Hospital score (p< 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.804). All three scoring systems correlate significantly with each other. Dr. Soetomo General Hospital score correlates more towards Brixia score (p< 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.808) than RALE score (p< 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.836). Brixia to RALE score correlates with a coefficient of 0.857 (p< 0.01). Conclusion: All the three chest x-ray scoring systems are equally useful for aassesing the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia.