Knowledge of general physicians in interpreting chest computed tomography used to examine Coronavirus Disease-2019 in Iran

Lung is the primary organ affected by the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) virus, which causes pneumonia, an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Lung computed tomography (CT) is a very useful and practical modality in diagnosing COVID-19 due to its speed and high sensitivity in determining the severity. When visiting patients with suspected COVID-19 in hospitals, general practitioners are usually the first medical staff to visit these patients. Therefore, sufficient knowledge in the interpretation of the patients' lung CT scan is essential for general practitioners.

A 28-year-old male patient referred to a physician at the hospital. He had only the symptoms of shortness of breath and mild chest pain during deep breathing. The general practitioner requested a CT scan of the patient; in addition, the physician diagnosed that the lungs were healthy and prescribed azithromycin and diphenhydramine syrup. Since the patient was a medical staff and was fully acquainted with CT scans, he became suspicious of the stereotype of his lung image and referred to an infectious disease specialist. Upon seeing the CT, the specialist immediately became suspicious of COVID-19 and referred the CT to a radiologist.

In order to prevent misdiagnosis and spread of COVID-19 in the examinations, it is necessary to enhance the general practitioners' knowledge of the CT scan of lungs of suspected patients and patients with low lung infection, which can be difficult for general practitioners, by infectious disease specialists and radiologists.