Radiographers and COVID-19 pneumonia: Diagnostic performance using CO-RADS.
Radiography (Lond)
; 27(4): 1078-1084, 2021 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1225376
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
A more structured role of radiographers is advisable to speed up the management of patients with suspected COVID-19. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of radiographers in the detection of COVID-19 pneumonia on chest CT using CO-RADS descriptors.METHODS:
CT images of patients who underwent RT-PCR and chest CT due to COVID-19 suspicion between March and July 2020 were analysed retrospectively. Six readers, including two radiologists, two highly experienced radiographers and two less experienced radiographers, independently scored each CT using the CO-RADS lexicon. ROC curves were used to investigate diagnostic accuracy, and Fleiss'κ statistics to evaluate inter-rater agreement.RESULTS:
714 patients (419 men; 295 women; mean age 64 years ±19SD) were evaluated. CO-RADS> 3 was identified as optimal diagnostic threshold. Highly experienced radiographers achieved an average sensitivity of 58.7% (95%CI 52.5-64.7), an average specificity of 81.8% (95%CI 77.9-85.2), and a mean AUC of 0.72 (95%CI 0.68-0.75). Among less experienced radiographers, an average sensitivity of 56.3% (95%CI 50.1-62.2) and an average specificity of 81.5% (95%CI 77.6-84.9) were observed, with a mean AUC of 0.71 (95%CI 0.68-0.74). Consultant radiologists achieved an average sensitivity of 60.0% (95%CI 53.7-65.8), an average specificity of 81.7% (95%CI 77.8-85.1), and a mean AUC of 0.73 (95%CI 0.70-0.77).CONCLUSION:
Radiographers can adequately recognise the classic appearances of COVID-19 on CT, as described by the CO-RADS assessment scheme, in a way comparable to expert radiologists. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Radiographers, as the first healthcare professionals to evaluate CT images in patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, could diagnose COVID-19 pneumonia by means of a categorical reporting scheme at CT in a reliable way, hence playing a primary role in the early management of these patients.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Radiography (Lond)
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.radi.2021.04.010
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