Journal of Molecular Pathology and Biochemistry
Open Access

Articles On Radiology

This role is heavily predicated on the clinical context as well as the timing of its intended use within the diagnostic pathway, especially relative to the current reference standard diagnostic test, real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of a pharyngeal swab and other clinical and laboratory investigations. Although it may not be feasible or desirable for isolation purposes to perform a chest radiograph (CXR), we should acknowledge that pragmatically patients with a respiratory complaint are likely to present via any number of routes (primary care, emergency departments [EDs] or outpatient clinics) having already had a CXR, other than to isolation pods outside a hospital, and work-up of a respiratory complaint would usually include a CXR in such settings. Cognizant of this fact, in the following discussion we have considered how a CXR would also fit into diagnostic algorithms, and in particular, how the use of CT would alter management in settings where a CXR was or was not available.