Doctors warn against indiscriminate use of CT scan among Covid patients

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 5

Doctors from the PGI have warned against the indiscriminate use of chest computed tomography (CT) scan on Covid-19 patients and indicated when to use CT scan in these patients by medical professionals.

According to the doctors, CT scan is particularly useful for those Covid-19 patients who show a sudden and unexplained clinical deterioration or are unresponsive to treatment. Among recovered patients, CT scan may be used on those who are on follow-up or show hypoxia/functional lung impairment. CT chest is needed to differentiate the sequel of Covid infection (lung fibrosis) from other causes.

An article published in the IJMR, which is the official journal of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), aims at removing the ambiguity regarding the use of CT scan of the chest in Covid and to stop its misuse.

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

“CT scan of chest is an invaluable diagnostic tool in Covid-19 as lungs are the most commonly involved organs. In the beginning of the pandemic, there was a lot of confusion and fear associated with the disease. During that time, due to lack of any clear-cut guidelines, CT scan of chest was exploited indiscriminately and its rampant misuse is continuing even today. CT scan of chest needs to be done only in specific clinical situations and every Covid patient does not need CT scan,” said Dr Garg.

“I get several CT scans for review every day, most of which are not needed in the very first place. So, I feel it’s an absolute misuse of resources and waste of man hours. Through the present review, we have defined the indications of CT scan in a manner that is practical, understandable and easy to put to practice,” adds Dr Garg.

“We have been adhering to these guidelines while doing CT scan in Covid patients at the PGI, Chandigarh. It is important to understand that CT scan doesn’t change the management in a majority of the patients and is useful only in specific scenarios,” said Dr MS Sandhu, head of radiodiagnosis at the PGI.

Chest CT scan may also be considered in those Covid patients who are at an increased risk for disease progression.