There are new cases of COVID-19 every day, and everyone is afraid of being infected and also afraid of becoming an invisible carrier and infecting others. Many people think that even though there are no symptoms, it is better to go to a laboratory to check the lungs on your own. Is this useful? Dr. Hui Kei Tat, a specialist in radiology, believes, "Everyone should remain vigilant and there is no need to panic for the time being. Although a computer scan can clearly see the condition of the lungs, it is more appropriate to consult your family doctor if you have any concerns and understand the need before doing relevant examinations."
The new type of coronavirus can cause pneumonia. Some new employees need to have their lungs checked, and their physical examinations for students studying abroad also need to check their lungs. Are any problems clear by just taking an X-Ray? Xu Qida said that there are actually many types of "lung care", and doctors will decide which type of lung care to arrange according to the patient's needs.
Low-dose CT is clearer
Dr. Hui Kei Tat pointed out that the simplest way to take pictures of the lungs is X-Ray. "It is a flat film. Depending on the symptoms of the disease, it may need to be taken at different angles to let the doctor understand the condition of the patient's lungs." The other isComputed Tomography(Computed Tomography, CT), the images taken are cross-sections, and then the computer integrates the images to observe from multiple angles. "The patient lies flat and enters the instrument during the examination. The instrument is like a circle, with a high-speed rotating X-ray source inside the circle. After the X-ray passes through the body from 360 degrees, the computer calculates and integrates it into a three-dimensional multi-angle image. It only takes a few seconds to complete. The image can see whether there is inflammation and tumor tissue in the lungs, etc., and the image is very clear."
Regarding the lung examination required for the new coronavirus pneumonia, Dr. Hui Kei Tat believes that "the accuracy of lung X-rays is not as good as that of computer scans. According to current observations, one of the characteristics of new coronavirus pneumonia is the appearance of frosted glass on both sides of the lungs in computer scans. Of course, other clinical tests such as body fluid secretion testing are also required to confirm the diagnosis." In addition, he said that using low-dose computed tomography (CTLD) is sufficient to observe the condition of the lungs, without the need for full-dose CT. It can also reduce the amount of radiation and will not cause damage to the body.
How much radiation does it take to illuminate the lungs?
The unit of radiation used in medicine is generally millisievert (mSv). It turns out that we also absorb "background radiation" brought by the earth's crust, rocks, and the universe every day in our daily lives, so a person will receive about 2 to 3 millisieverts of radiation every year. Dr. Hui Kei Tat pointed out, "The radiation dose of a lung slice is about 0.1 mSv, which is about the amount of radiation absorbed by a round trip flight from Hong Kong to London. The radiation dose of a low-dose CTLD is about 0.5 to 1 mSv, which is 5 to 10 lung slices or 2 to 3 months of background radiation. It is very safe for the body."
Smokers should take care of their lungs regularly
General annual health check-ups may not include annual lung examinations, but Xu Qida suggested that high-risk people who smoke for a long time refer to foreign practices for lung cancer screening. There have been benchmark studies in the United States and Europe that used regular CTLD lung scans for lung cancer screening for long-term smokers aged 50 to 80 years old, and found that it can effectively reduce lung cancer mortality by 20%. He added: "As a doctor, I certainly believe that quitting smoking can reduce the risk of lung cancer more effectively than taking care of your lungs. Moreover, smoking will damage lung tissue and cause a decrease in lung function. Once you get pneumonia, it will worsen the condition. During the epidemic, you might as well take this opportunity to quit smoking."
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