Role of Imaging and AI in the Evaluation of COVID-19 Infection: A Comprehensive Survey.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that started and rapidly became the pandemic of the century, as the number of people infected with it globally exceeded 253.4 million. Since the beginning of the pandemic of COVID-19, over two years have passed. During this hard period, several defies have been coped by the scientific society to know this novel disease, evaluate it, and treat affected patients. All these efforts are done to push back the spread of the virus. This article provides a comprehensive review to learn about the COVID-19 virus and its entry mechanism, its main repercussions on many organs and tissues of the body, identify its symptoms in the short and long terms, in addition to recognize the role of diagnosis imaging in COVID-19. Principally, the quick evolution of active vaccines act an exceptional accomplishment where leaded to decrease rate of death worldwide. However, some hurdels still have to be overcome. Many proof referrers that infection with CoV-19 causes neurological dis function in a substantial ratio of influenced patients, where these symptoms appear severely during the infection and still less is known about the potential long term consequences for the brain, where Loss of smell is a neurological sign and rudimentary symptom of COVID-19. Hence, we review the causes of olfactory bulb dysfunction and Anosmia associated with COVID-19, the latest appropriate therapeutic strategies for the COVID-19 treatment (e.g., the ACE2 strategy and the Ang II receptor), and the tests through the follow-up phases. Additionally, we discuss the long-term complications of the virus and thus the possibility of improving therapeutic strategies. Moreover, the main steps of artificial intelligence that have been used to foretell and early diagnose COVID-19 are presented, where Artificial intelligence, especially machine learning is emerging as an effective approach for diagnostic image analysis with performance in the discriminate diagnosis of injuries of COVID-19 on multiple organs, comparable to that of human practitioners. The followed methodology to prepare the current survey is to search the related work concerning the mentioned topic from different journals, such as Springer, Wiley, and Elsevier. Additionally, different studies have been compared, the results are collected and then reported as shown. The articles are selected based on the year (i.e., the last three years). Also, different keywords were checked (e.g., COVID-19, COVID-19 Treatment, COVID-19 Symptoms, and COVID-19 and Anosmia).

Point-of-care ultrasound in a pandemic: Practical guidance in COVID-19 units.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has stretched our healthcare system to the brink, highlighting the importance of efficient resource utilization without compromising healthcare provider safety. While advanced imaging is a great resource for diagnostic purposes, the risk of contamination and infection transmission is high and requires extensive logistical planning for intrahospital patient transport, healthcare provider safety, and post-imaging decontamination. This dilemma has necessitated the transition to more bedside imaging. More so than ever, during the current pandemic, the clinical utility and importance of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) cannot be overstressed. It allows for safe and efficient beside procedural guidance and provides front line providers with valuable diagnostic information that can be acted upon in real-time for immediate clinical decision-making. The authors have been routinely using POCUS for the management of COVID-19 patients both in the emergency department and in intensive care units turned into "COVID-units." In this article, we review the nuances of using POCUS in a pandemic situation and maximizing diagnostic output from this bedside technology. Additionally, we review various methods and diagnostic uses of POCUS which can replace conventional imaging and bridge current literature and common clinical practices in critically ill patients. We discuss practical guidance and pertinent review of the literature for the most relevant procedural and diagnostic guidance of respiratory illness, hemodynamic decompensation, renal failure, and gastrointestinal disorders experienced by many patients admitted to COVID-units.

HRCT chest in COVID-19 patients: An initial experience from a private imaging center in western India.

The COVID-19 pandemic began in late December in 2019 and has now reached to 216 countries with 1,08,42,028 confirmed cases and 5,21,277 deaths according to the WHO reports and 6,49,666 confirmed cases in india alone with 18,679 deaths (as on 04th july 2020). RT-PCR has been considered the standard test for diagnosis of COVID 19. However, there has been reported a high false negative rate. This high false negative rate increases the risk of further transmission as well as delays the timely management of suspected cases. We have conducted HRCT chest of various (200 patient case study) proven and suspected cases of COVID-19 infection in the months of April, May and June 2020. Out of 200 scanned patients with clinical complains and suspicion, positive HRCT chest findings were seen in 196 patients, showing clinical-radiological correlation and an accuracy of 98%. The sensitivity of chest CT in suggesting COVID-19 was 98.6% (146/148patients) based on positive RT-PCR results. In patients with negative RT-PCR results and high clinical suspicion, 90% (18/20) had positive chest CT findings. HRCT chest is very sensitive and accurate in picking up lung parenchymal abnormalities in laboratory negative RT-PCR cases with high clinical suspicion of COVID-19 infection and also in all symptomatic patients where RT-PCR was not done. HRCT can also be very sensitive, cost effective and time effective in screening patients with high clinical suspicion. HRCT scores over RT-PCR in giving immediate results, assessing severity of disease and prediction of prognosis. We suggest HRCT chest for detection of early parenchymal abnormalities, assessing severity of disease in all patients with clinical symptoms and suspicion of COVID infection irrespective of laboratory RT-PCR status.

Imaging algorithm for COVID-19: A practical approach.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has strained healthcare resources across the world with emerging challenges of mass testing, resource allocation and management. While reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test is the most commonly utilized test and considered the current gold standard for diagnosis, the role of chest imaging has been highlighted by several studies demonstrating high sensitivity of computed tomography (CT). Many have suggested using CT chest as a first-line screening tool for the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, with advancement of laboratory testing and challenges in obtaining a CT scan without significant risk to healthcare providers, the role of imaging in diagnosis has been questioned. Several imaging societies have released consensus statements and guidelines on utilizing imaging resources and optimal reporting. In this review, we highlight the current evidence on various modalities in thoracic imaging for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and describe an algorithm on how to use these resources in an optimal fashion in accordance with the guidelines and statements released by major imaging societies.