1. Computed tomography surveillance helps tracking COVID-19 outbreak.
- Author
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Machitori A, Noguchi T, Kawata Y, Horioka N, Nishie A, Kakihara D, Ishigami K, Aoki S, and Imai Y
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Child, Preschool, Epidemiological Monitoring, Female, Humans, Infant, Japan epidemiology, Lung diagnostic imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Pandemics, SARS-CoV-2, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult, COVID-19 diagnostic imaging, COVID-19 epidemiology, Tomography, X-Ray Computed methods
- Abstract
Purpose: To reveal that a computed tomography surveillance program (CT-surveillance) could demonstrate the epidemiologic features of COVID-19 infection and simultaneously investigate the type and frequency of CT findings using clinical CT data., Materials and Methods: We targeted individuals with possible CT findings of viral pneumonia. Using an online questionnaire, we asked Japanese board-certified radiologists to register their patients' information including patient age and sex, the CT examination date, the results of PCR test for COVID-19 infection, CT findings, and the postal code of the medical institution that performed the CT. We compared the diurnal patient number and the cumulative regional distribution map of registrations in CT-surveillance to those of the PCR-positive patient surveillance (PCR-surveillance)., Results: A total of 637 patients was registered from January 1 to April 17, 2020 for CT-surveillance. Their PCR test results were positive (n = 62.5-398%), negative (n = 8.9-57%), unknown (n = 26.2-167%), and other disease (n = 2.4-15%). An age peak at 60-69 years and male dominance were observed in CT-surveillance. The most common CT finding was bilaterally distributed ground-glass opacities. The diurnal number and the cumulative regional distribution map by CT-surveillance showed tendencies that were similar to those revealed by PCR-surveillance., Conclusion: Using clinical CT data, CT-surveillance program delineated the epidemiologic features of COVID-19 infection.
- Published
- 2020
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