The following data were collected from RIS‐PACS (radiology information systems and picture archiving and communication systems): type of thoracic CT performed which include CT Chest, CTPA or HRCT, clinical indication, positive or negative for pulmonary embolism (PE) if CTPA was performed and whether patient was urgently scanned. Normally, CT scans for COVID‐19 patients were scheduled to be performed after normal hours. We defined a scan urgent if the time of investigation was within 2 h of the CT request time by the ward clinician.
Electronic medical records were also reviewed to record the following data: demographic data including patient sex and age, days post‐COVID‐19 positive on PCR, length of admission at time of scan, if patient was staying in the intensive care unit (ICU) at time of scan and management plan pre‐ and post‐CT chest. A change in management was defined as when a medication was initiated or ceased, the patient was admitted to ICU, or a procedure was performed.
Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) Human Research Ethics Committee approval for this study was obtained.
Free full text: Click here