Tomographic scale for the assessment of COVID-19 severity at the National Respiratory Diseases Institute

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has caused high rates of morbidity and mortality. The use of adequate diagnostic methods to identify the evolution of this disease is necessary;computerized tomography (CT) is of the main tools by image, with sensitivity of 96-99%. Different studies have created scales to evaluate the extent and severity of lung disease from COVID-19, with a variability in the results. Objective: To evaluate the use of a tomographic scale (TS) to determine the severity of lung affectation in COVID-19. Material and methods: Analytical cross-sectional study including patients with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and initial CT. ATS was used to evaluate the lung affectation, to identify pulmonary pattern and to establish the state of the disease. Statistical analysis consisted in descriptive and analytical statistics (ROC curve). Results: 151 patients, mean age 50 years. The predominant pulmonary pattern was «crazy paving» (46%), identified in the phase of progression. The area under the ROC curve was 0.831 (95% CI 0.764-0.898), with a cut-off value of 16.5 to discriminate the severe from non-severe affectation, with sensitivity 84% and specificity 74%. Conclusion: The use of TS in initial CT showed an acceptable sensitivity to identify the severity of the disease.