Application of X-ray examinations in General practice for the diagnosis of lung damage in patients suspected of COVID-19 infection

Abstract

General practitioners who have access to diagnostic investigations from primary health care and clear referral guidelines to follow can utilize these resources as efficiently as hospital physicians and doctors from secondary health care [1-3]. More complex imaging methodologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) cannot be used in Bulgarian General Practice yet and they are subject to restrictions by the National Health Insurance Fund. The most readily available imaging method that general physicians can apply in the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients is convectional chest radiography. This is a first-line test for detecting lung pathology and it is helpful for evaluation of patients with a high pre-test probability of overt COVID-19 pneumonia, clinical follow up, and for the evaluation of potential complications [4].