Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36204494›Full record

ArticleMedicine access @ point of care

Rapid screening for COVID-19 by applying artificial intelligence to chest computed tomography images: A feasibility study.

Pedro Galván, José Fusillo, Felipe González, Oraldo Vukujevic, Luciano Recalde, Ronald Rivas, José Ortellado, Juan Portillo, Julio Mazzoleni, Enrique Hilario

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine access @ point of care. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 44% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Limitations of point-of-care testing for low SARS CoV-2 loads: Insights for future pandemics.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025
    Article
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

10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Pedro GalvánDepartamento de Ingeniería Biomédica e Imágenes, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud (ICSS), Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA), San Lorenzo, Paraguay.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3762-0786
José FusilloMinisterio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social (MSBS), Asunción, Paraguay.
Felipe GonzálezMinisterio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social (MSBS), Asunción, Paraguay.
Oraldo VukujevicMinisterio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social (MSBS), Asunción, Paraguay.
Luciano RecaldeDepartamento de Ingeniería Biomédica e Imágenes, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud (ICSS), Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA), San Lorenzo, Paraguay.
Ronald RivasDepartamento de Ingeniería Biomédica e Imágenes, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud (ICSS), Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA), San Lorenzo, Paraguay.
José OrtelladoMinisterio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social (MSBS), Asunción, Paraguay.
Juan PortilloMinisterio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social (MSBS), Asunción, Paraguay.
Julio MazzoleniMinisterio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social (MSBS), Asunción, Paraguay.
Enrique HilarioFacultad de Medicina, Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, España.
Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social · PYUniversidad Nacional de Asunción · PYUniversity of the Basque Country · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to present the results and impact of the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 by telemedicine in public health in Paraguay. Methods: This is a descriptive, multi-centered, observational design feasibility study based on an AI tool for the rapid detection of COVID-19 in chest computed tomography (CT) images of patients with respiratory difficulties attending the country's public hospitals. The patients' digital CT images were transmitted to the AI diagnostic platform, and after a few minutes, radiologists and pneumologists specialized in COVID-19 downloaded the images for evaluation, confirmation of diagnosis, and comparison with the genetic diagnosis (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)). It was also determined the percentage of agreement between two similar AI systems applied in parallel to study the viability of using it as an alternative method of screening patients with COVID-19 through telemedicine. Results: Between March and August 2020, 911 rapid diagnostic tests were carried out on patients with respiratory disorders to rule out COVID-19 in 14 hospitals nationwide. The average age of patients was 50.7 years, 62.6% were male and 37.4% female. Most of the diagnosed respiratory conditions corresponded to the age group of 27-59 years (252 studies), the second most frequent corresponded to the group over 60 years, and the third to the group of 19-26 years. The most frequent findings of the radiologists/pneumologists were severe pneumonia, bilateral pneumonia with pleural effusion, bilateral pulmonary emphysema, diffuse ground glass opacity, hemidiaphragmatic paresis, calcified granuloma in the lower right lobe, bilateral pleural effusion, sequelae of tuberculosis, bilateral emphysema, and fibrotic changes, among others. Overall, an average of 86% agreement and 14% diagnostic discordance was determined between the two AI systems. The sensitivity of the AI system was 93% and the specificity 80% compared with RT-PCR. Conclusion: Paraguay has an AI-based telemedicine screening system for the rapid stratified detection of COVID-19 from chest CT images of patients with respiratory conditions. This application strengthens the integrated network of health services, rationalizing the use of specialized human resources, equipment, and inputs for laboratory diagnosis.

Indexed as

artificial intelligenceCOVID diagnosisICTs in healthParaguayrapid screeningtelediagnosistelehealthtelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID36204494
PMCPMC9413752
OpenAlexW3160028825

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.