PGI doctors have cautioned against the indiscriminate use of chest computed tomography (CT) scan on coronavirus patients and have directed when to use CT scan in COVID-19 patients by medical experts.

As per the doctors, CT scan is mainly useful for those coronavirus patients who display a sudden and unexplained clinical worsening or are unresponsive to any treatment. Also, in recovered patients, CT scan should be used on those patients who are coming for follow-up or show hypoxia or functional lung impairment. CT chest scan is required to differentiate the consequence of COVID infection (i.e., lung fibrosis) from various causes.

An article published in the IJMR, the official journal of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), target seradicating the uncertainty related to the use of chest CT scan in COVID and to stop its misuse.

Dr Mandeep Garg, who is a chest radiologist at the PGI in Chandigarh, is the lead author, and has taken an initiative to assemble a joint study from all the leading medical institutes of India. Other co-authors are Dr Aparna from the CMC, Vellore, Dr Ashu Bhalla, AIIMS, New Delhi, and Dr Nidhi, Dr Uma, Dr Inderpaul Sehgal, Dr Vikas Suri, Dr Narayana, Dr Ritesh, Dr GD Puri and Dr MS Sandhu from the PGI.

He said that chest CT scan is an important diagnostic tool in COVID-19 as lungs are commonly involved organs. In the initial stage of the pandemic, a lot of confusion and fear was associated with the infection. At that time, due to absence of any clear guidelines, CT scan of chest was misused indiscriminately and its extensive misuse is still continuing today. It needs to be done only in certain clinical situations and every COVID-19 patient does not require CT scan.

Dr MS Sandhu, who is a head of radiodiagnosis, PGI said that it is important to realize that CT scan does not change the management and treatment in a majority of the COVID-19 patients and is useful only in certain situations.

Source: The Tribune