CTA Scans May Offer Fast and Early Detection of COVID-19 in Stroke Patients

Examination of the lungs via computed tomography angiogram (CTA) scans helped researchers screen for and detect COVID-19 earlier than traditional nasal swab tests in acute stroke patients.

In a new study, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York, NY, USA) using CTA scan results in combination with COVID-19 symptom questionnaires were able to detect COVID-19 with 83% accuracy. Researchers used CTA scans to evaluate the lung apices (the upper area of the lungs) for signs of COVID-19 pneumonia. They then analyzed the accuracy of using CTA scans for COVID-19 diagnosis alone as well as in combination with patient-reported symptoms, such as cough and/or shortness of breath.

In their study findings published in Stroke, a journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, the researchers found that CTA scans could offer fast and early detection of COVID-19 in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. The researchers also found that found that in addition to patient-reported COVID-19 symptoms, routine or standard care CTA scans were an accurate screening method for faster detection of COVID-19 since they include imaging of the upper portion of the lungs.

“Every second counts when treating a person experiencing a stroke,” said Charles Esenwa, M.D., M.S., lead author of the study, an assistant professor and a stroke neurologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. “Conducting a CTA is already part of the stroke management process, and these scans provide an opportunity to assess the lungs for signs suggestive of COVID-19. Our team sought to determine if this already necessary scan could have a secondary use of identifying potential COVID-19 patients more quickly than a standard nasal swab COVID-19 test.”

“In combination with symptoms, CTA scan analysis is relatively accurate in diagnosing COVID-19, even compared to the nasal swab test. Since this analysis is much faster and at no extra cost, we hope it could be incorporated as a rapid diagnosis tool for patients with acute stroke,” Esenwa said. “In addition, accurately diagnosing COVID-19 within hours, rather than the sometimes days wait-time to receive the results from nasal swab tests could help protect both patients and medical professionals.”

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine