• Gianluca Argentieri, Luca Bellesi, Alberto Pagnamenta, Gianluca Vanini, Stefano Presilla, Filippo Del Grande, Marco Marando, and Pietro Gianella.
• IIMSI - Radiology Department, Ospedale Regionale di Lugano.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 May 28; 100 (21): e26034e26034.

AbstractTo determine the role of ultra-low dose chest computed tomography (uld CT) compared to chest radiographs in patients with laboratory-confirmed early stage SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.Chest radiographs and uld CT of 12 consecutive suspected SARS-CoV-2 patients performed up to 48 hours from hospital admission were reviewed by 2 radiologists. Dosimetry and descriptive statistics of both modalities were analyzed.On uld CT, parenchymal abnormalities compatible with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia were detected in 10/12 (83%) patients whereas on chest X-ray in, respectively, 8/12 (66%) and 5/12 (41%) patients for reader 1 and 2. The average increment of diagnostic performance of uld CT compared to chest X-ray was 29%. The average effective dose was, respectively, of 0.219 and 0.073 mSv.Uld CT detects substantially more lung injuries in symptomatic patients with suspected early stage SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia compared to chest radiographs, with a significantly better inter-reader agreement, at the cost of a slightly higher equivalent radiation dose.Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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