CT radiomics predicts COVID-19 outcomes better than radiologists

Editor's Note

This study found that whole lung radiomics from non-contrast chest CT exams were better than radiologists’ assessments for predicting outcomes in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

The findings also showed that combining radiomics with clinical variables and lab data were associated with better predictions of ICU admissions and mortality.

Of 315 patients analyzed, 276 (88%) recovered from COVID-19 pneumonia; 36 (11%) patients died; and 3 (1%) remained in the hospital.

Radiomics were superior to radiologists’ interpretation for patient triage with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84 vs 0.69 and in predicting patient outcomes in terms of ICU admission (AUC 0.75 vs 0.68) and death (AUC 0.81 vs 0.68).