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In high-risk patients, scans more capable of spotting serious complications, researchers report Computed tomography (CT) scans are more able than standard X-rays at detecting the severity of illness in patients afflicted with the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as swine flu, according to a recently conducted research.
For the study, researchers looked at seven patients infected with the swine flu virus and conducted chest X-rays on all of them. They also conducted CT scans on three of these patients. The findings of the study were released online in advance of publication of the print issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology in December. In a news release issued by the American Roentgen Ray Society, study author Dr. Amr M. Ailan, said that all patients manifesting abnormalities in the CT scan results "showed abnormal findings on the corresponding chest X-rays." But Ailan said, "the extent of involvement was more diffuse and the distribution of disease was better characterized on CT." "The strength of our study is that all CT scans performed showed a similar distribution of abnormalities, which might help physicians prospectively diagnose H1N1 using medical imaging," Ailan said. According to him, majority of H1N1 cases are "mild and self-limited; however, high-risk patients are more likely to have severe complications." Ailan said their study indicates that "CT is superior to standard chest X-rays and should be the imaging modality of choice in high-risk patients."
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