Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021;4(4):248-256.
doi: 10.1007/s42058-021-00075-1. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Chest CT performance and features of COVID-19 in the region of Abu Dhabi, UAE: a single institute study

Ghufran Aref Saeed  1 , Abeer Ahmed Al Helali  1 , Asad Shah  1 , Safaa Almazrouei  1 , Luai A Ahmed  2
Affiliations

Chest CT performance and features of COVID-19 in the region of Abu Dhabi, UAE: a single institute study

Ghufran Aref Saeed et al. Chin J Acad Radiol. 2021.

Abstract

Objective: We aim to investigate high-resolution CT features of COVID-19 infection in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and to compare the diagnostic performance of CT scan with RT-PCR test.

Methods: Data of consecutive patients who were suspected to have COVID-19 infection and presented to our hospital were collected from March 2, 2020, until April 12, 2020. All patients underwent RT-PCR test; out of which 53.8% had chest CT scan done. Using RT-PCR as a standard reference, the sensitivity and specificity of the CT scan were calculated. We also analyzed the most common imaging findings in patients with positive RT-PCR results.

Results: The typical HRCT findings were seen in 50 scans (65.8%) out of total positive ones; 44 (77.2%) with positive RT-PCR results and 6 (31.6%) with negative results. The peripheral disease distribution was seen in 86%, multilobe involvement in 70%, bilateral in 82%, and posterior in 82% of the 50 scans. The ground glass opacities were seen in 50/74 (89.3%) of the positive RT-PCR group. The recognized GGO patterns in these scans were: rounded 50%, linear 38%, and crazy-paving 24%. Using RT-PCR as a standard of reference, chest HRCT scan revealed a sensitivity of 68.8% and specificity of 70%.

Conclusion: The commonest HRCT findings in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were peripheral, posterior, bilateral, multilobe rounded ground-glass opacities. The performance of HRCT scan can vary depending on multiple factors.

Keywords: COVID-19; Ground glass opacity; HRCT; RT-PCR.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestNo conflict of interest needs to be disclosed.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cohort selection and distribution
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Axial thin-sections of unenhanced CT scan of two patients with COVID-19 pneumonia (a) scan shows bilateral ground-glass opacities with septal thickening (crazy-paving pattern) (b) scan shows bilateral ground-glass opacities with rounded morphology
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Axial (a) and coronal (b) thin-sections of unenhanced CT scan which was reported as typical for COVID-19 pneumonia. Note the bilateral peripheral linear GGO (arrows). The patient was confirmed to have Influenza pneumonia and his two RT-PCR tests were negative for COVID-19 pneumonia
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Axial (a) and coronal (b) thin-sections of unenhanced CT scan which was reported as a combination of typical and atypical patterns for COVID-19 pneumonia (concurrent pathologies). Note the bilateral peripheral GGO (black arrows), consolidation (white arrow), and bilateral pleural effusion (Asterix). The patient was known to have heart failure and confirmed to have Mycoplasma pneumonia. His two consecutive RT-PCR tests were negative for COVID-19 pneumonia
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • High resolution chest computed tomography findings in patients with clinically suspected COVID-19 pneumonia in Uganda: a cross-sectional study.
    Nassanga R, Mubuuke AG, Mangun R, Tumusiime MC, Geoffrey E, Nabbosa V, Olweny F, Ameda F, Bugeza S. Nassanga R, et al. Afr Health Sci. 2023 Dec;23(4):85-101. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v23i4.12. Afr Health Sci. 2023. PMID: 38974254 Free PMC article.
  • Thoracic imaging tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19.
    Ebrahimzadeh S, Islam N, Dawit H, Salameh JP, Kazi S, Fabiano N, Treanor L, Absi M, Ahmad F, Rooprai P, Al Khalil A, Harper K, Kamra N, Leeflang MM, Hooft L, van der Pol CB, Prager R, Hare SS, Dennie C, Spijker R, Deeks JJ, Dinnes J, Jenniskens K, Korevaar DA, Cohen JF, Van den Bruel A, Takwoingi Y, van de Wijgert J, Wang J, Pena E, Sabongui S, McInnes MD; Cochrane COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Accuracy Group. Ebrahimzadeh S, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 May 16;5(5):CD013639. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013639.pub5. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022. PMID: 35575286 Free PMC article. Review.

References

    1. Liu J, Yu H, Zhang S. The indispensable role of chest CT in the detection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2020 doi: 10.1007/s00259-020-04795-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. www.who.int. (n.d.). Use of chest imaging in COVID-19. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/use-of-chest-imaging-in-covid-19.
    1. Bernheim A, Mei X, Huang M, Yang Y, Fayad ZA, Zhang N, Diao K, Lin B, Zhu X, Li K, Li S, Shan H, Jacobi A, Chung M. Chest CT findings in Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19): relationship to duration of infection. Radiology. 2020;295(3):200463. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020200463. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hani C, Trieu NH, Saab I, Dangeard S, Bennani S, Chassagnon G, Revel M-P. COVID-19 pneumonia: a review of typical CT findings and differential diagnosis. Diagn Interv Imaging. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.diii.2020.03.014. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Isikbay M, Hope MD, Raptis CA, Shah A, Bierhals AJ, Bhalla S, Hammer MM, Kligerman SJ, Jeudy J, Filev PD, Henry TS. CT on the diamond princess: what might this tell us about sensitivity for COVID-19? Radiol Cardiothorac Imaging. 2020;2(2):e200155. doi: 10.1148/ryct.2020200155. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources