Diagnosis options in patients suffering from COVID-19- like symptoms.

Dimeglio, Chloé; Collot, Samia; Abravanel, Florence; Sauné, Karine; Lhomme, Sébastien; Faruch, Marie; Sans, Nicolas; Izopet, Jacques

The role and performance of chest CT in the diagnosis of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic remains under active investigation. A recent case report in this journal found that a COVID-19 diagnosis has been made from the serological results despite first CT scan and RT-PCR negative results. We have included 311 consecutive patients with COVID-19-like symptoms who underwent a RT-PCR test on nasopharyngeal swab samples and a chest CT scan. Patients with a positive chest scan and a negative RT-PCR were screened for serum total anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 2 months after the onset of symptoms using the Wantai test in order to arbitrate between RT-PCR and CT scans discordant results. Most of the RT-PCR and chest CT results agreed but the serological tests indicate that most CT positive/NAT negative patients are not infected by SARS-CoV-2 and alternative diagnoses should be seriously considered. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.