Correlation of Chest CT and RT-PCR Testing for Coronavirus Disease 2020(COVID-19) in Palestine: A Report of 200 Cases

Abstract

Purpose: Prove that Computed Tomography (CT) is a more effective diagnostic tool for diagnosing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in comparison with Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) due to its higher sensitivity. Methods and materials: A total of 200 cases that had records of chest CT scans and RT-PCR tests were collected from Palestinian governmental hospitals from September to November 2020. Results: CT indicated COVID-19 in 62.5% of sample population (125 of 200) whereas RT-PCR indicated COVID-19 in 37.5% (75 of 200) cases. A P-value of 0.028 signifies the existence of a relationship between gender and CT sensitivity. Conclusion: High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest is a more rapid, sensitive, and effective tool than the current gold standard (RT-PCR); therefore, should be considered a primary diagnostic method for COVID-19.