Prognostic utility of the chest computed tomography severity score for the requirement of mechanical ventilation and mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

PURPOSE: To correlate the chest computed tomography severity score (CT-SS) with the need for mechanical ventilation and mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chest CT images of 224 inpatients with COVID-19, confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), were retrospectively reviewed from April 1 to 25, 2020, in a tertiary health care center. We calculated the CT-SS (dividing each lung into 20 segments and assigning scores of 0, 1, and 2 due to opacification involving 0%, <50%, and ≥50% of each region for a global range of 0–40 points, including both lungs), and collected clinical data. The receiver operating characteristic curve and Youden Index analysis was performed to calculate the CT-SS threshold and accuracy for classification for risk of mortality or MV requirement. RESULTS: 136 men and 88 women were recruited, with an age range of 23–91 years and a mean of 50.17 years; 79 met the MV criteria, and 53 were nonsurvivors. The optimal threshold was >27.5 points for mortality (area under ROC curve >0.96), with a sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 87%, and >25.5 points for the need for MV (area under ROC curve >0.94), with a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 89%. The Kaplan-Meier curves show a significant difference in mortality by the CT-SS threshold (Log Rank p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the CT-SS accurately discriminates the need for MV and mortality risk. In conjunction with clinical status and laboratory data, the CT-SS may be a useful imaging tool that could be included in establishing a prognosis for this population.