1. Variations in CT Utilization, Protocols, and Radiation Doses in COVID-19 Pneumonia: Results from 28 Countries in the IAEA Study
- Author
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Pilvi Ilves, Natalia Rotaru, Fatemeh Homayounieh, Iman Mohseni, Tajana Turk, Claire Van Ngoc Ty, Jenia Vassileva, Ola Holmberg, Osvaldo Rampado, Rashid Al Umairi, Valentin Sinitsyn, Adham Darweesh, Simone Kodlulovich Renha, Sallam Aly, D. Kostova-Lefterova, Algidas Basevičius, Mannudeep K. Kalra, Paulo Roberto Costa, Vesna Gershan, Issahaku Shirazu, Sallam Aly, Rashid AL Umairi, Ola Holmberg, Fatemeh Homayounieh, Adham Darweesh, Vesna Gershan, Valentin Sinitsyn, Paulo Roberto Costa, Desislava Kostova-Lefterova, and Shiraz Issahaku
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,Ct dose index ,Radiation Dosage ,030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging ,Retrospective data ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Interquartile range ,Patient age ,medicine ,Humans ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,In patient ,Original Research ,business.industry ,SARS-CoV-2 ,COVID-19 ,Thorax ,medicine.disease ,Pneumonia ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,COLETA DE DADOS ,Body region ,Radiology ,business ,Tomography, X-Ray Computed - Abstract
Background There is lack of guidance on specific CT protocols for imaging patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Purpose To assess international variations in CT utilization, protocols, and radiation doses in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Materials and Methods In this retrospective data collection study, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) coordinated a survey between May and July 2020 regarding CT utilization, protocols, and radiation doses from 62 healthcare sites in 34 countries across five continents for CT exams performed in COVID-19 pneumonia. The questionnaire obtained information on local prevalence, method of diagnosis, most frequent imaging, indications for CT, and specific policies on use of CT in COVID-19 pneumonia. Collected data included general information (patient age, weight, clinical indication), CT equipment (CT make and model, year of installation, number of detector rows), scan protocols (body region, scan phases, tube current and potential), and radiation dose descriptors (CT dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP)). Descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations were performed. Results Data from 782 patients (median age (interquartile range) of 59(15) years) from 54 healthcare sites in 28 countries were evaluated. Less than one-half of the healthcare sites used CT for initial diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia and three-fourth used CT for assessing disease severity. CTDIvol varied based on CT vendors (7-11mGy, p
- Published
- 2020