The Coronavirus Crisis: Is CT More Effective than Laboratory Testing in Detecting COVID-19?

Could it be that we are barking up the wrong tree in terms of how best to diagnose 2019 novel coronavirus COVID-19? Current U.S. guidelines prioritize laboratory testing over computed tomography (CT) and other types of chest scans to detect COVID-19. However, a recent study from Wuhan, China, ground zero for the pandemic, concludes that CT scans are better at diagnosing COVID-19 and should supplant laboratory testing as the primary method of COVID-19 screening. The Diagnostic Challenge Current laboratory tests for diagnosis of COVID-19 are based on reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology involving the application of gene sequencing for qualitative detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples of patients showing symptoms or suspected of having coronavirus. However, there are a number of problems with RT-PCR technology, including its low sensitivity which impairs its effectiveness in detecting the virus. As a result, while a positive test is a reliable indication of infection, a negative test is not a conclusive indication that a patient does not have it. Accordingly, the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are advising physicians not to rule out COVID-19 infection on the basis of a negative…