An international team of physicians led by Anna Rita Larici of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart published a consensus statement in the journal Radiology regarding the use of chest CT scans in patients recovering from COVID-19. The team recommends performing follow-up chest CT scans only in patients whose respiratory distress, lasting more than two months, persists or worsens, even after more than three months have passed since the infection. This helps avoid unnecessary radiation exposure.
On average, half of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have chest CT scan abnormalities. In most cases, these abnormalities resolve spontaneously, so doctors urge avoiding unnecessary diagnostic procedures. Furthermore, the consensus also recommends using correct terminology and avoiding referring to post-COVID residual pulmonary changes as interstitial lung disease, as this leads to multiple, redundant CT scans.
