Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33020043›Full record

ArticleAcademic radiology2021

Correlation Between Low-Dose Chest Computed Tomography and RT-PCR Results for the Diagnosis of COVID-19: A Report of 27,824 Cases in Tehran, Iran.

Alireza Zali, Mohammad-Reza Sohrabi, Ali Mahdavi, Nastaran Khalili, Morteza Sanei Taheri, Ali Maher, Mohammadmehdi Sadoughi, Afshin Zarghi, Seyed Ali Ziai, Abbas Arjmand Shabestari and 9 more

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Article in Academic radiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Alireza ZaliFunctional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: azalimd99@gmail.com.
Mohammad-Reza SohrabiCommunity Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ali MahdaviShahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Radiology Department, Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
Nastaran KhaliliSchool of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Morteza Sanei TaheriRadiology Department, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Ali MaherSchool of Management and Medical Education, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammadmehdi SadoughiOphthalmic Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Afshin ZarghiSchool of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Seyed Ali ZiaiDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abbas Arjmand ShabestariDepartment of Radiology, Modarres Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mehrdad BakhshayeshkaramNational Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hamidreza HaghighatkhahDepartment of Diagnostic Imaging, Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Babak SalevatipourDepartment of Diagnostic Imaging, Loghman Hakim Hospital; Shahid Behesti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Alireza AbrishamiDepartment of Radiology, Shahid Labbafinejad hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Masoomeh RaoufiDepartment of Radiology, School of Medicine, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
Pooneh DehghanImaging Department, Taleghani Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Arash Khameneh BagheriShahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
Reza Jalili KhoshnoudDepartment of Neurosurgery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Khatereh HananiSchool of Statistics & Information Technology Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences · IRShahid Beheshti University · IRImam Hossein Hospital · IRMasih Daneshvari Hospital · IRTaleghani General Hospital · IRTehran University of Medical Sciences · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

RATIONALE AND

objectivesReal-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) remains the gold standard for confirmation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) despite having many disadvantages. Here, we investigated the diagnostic performance of chest computed tomography (CT) as an alternative to RT-PCR in patients with clinical suspicion of COVID-19 infection.

methodsIn this descriptive cross-sectional study, 27,824 patients with clinical suspicion of COVID-19 infection who underwent unenhanced low-dose chest CT from 20 February, 2020 to 21 May, 2020 were evaluated. Patients were recruited from seven specifically designated hospitals for patients with COVID-19 infection affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. In each hospital, images were interpreted by two independent radiologists. CT findings were considered as positive/negative for COVID-19 infection based on RSNA diagnostic criteria. Then, the correlation between the number of daily positive chest CT scans and number of daily PCR-confirmed cases and COVID-19-related deaths in Tehran province during this three-month period was assessed. The trends of admission rate and patients with positive CT scans were also evaluated.

resultsA strong positive correlation between the numbers of daily positive CT scans and daily PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases (r = 0.913, p < 0.001) was observed. Furthermore, in hospitals located in regions with a lower socioeconomic status, the admission rate and number of positive cases within this three-month period was higher as compared to other hospitals.

conclusionLow-dose chest CT is a safe, rapid and reliable alternative to RT-PCR for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in high-prevalence regions. In addition, our study provides further evidence for considering patients' socioeconomic status as an important risk factor for COVID-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesHumansIranReverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain ReactionSARS-CoV-2Sensitivity and SpecificityTomography, X-Ray Computedcomputed tomographycorrelationCOVID-19diagnosispolymerase chain reactionRT-PCRsocioeconomic

Identifiers

PMID33020043
PMCPMC7505583
OpenAlexW3087197941

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.