WHO guidelines on the use of chest imaging in COVID-19 

Overview

This second edition reviews the scientific knowledge and updates and supersedes the first edition. It includes a new research question addressing the use of chest imaging in the follow-up of patients after recovery. This guide provides recommendations for seven different clinical scenarios (shown in the table below). The recommendations in the second edition of the guide and the summaries of the supporting evidence provided after each recommendation have been updated based on the new systematic reviews ix (a total of 128 studies up to April 2021). While the newly identified studies did not impact the conclusions of the previous review, for some of the recommendations the certainty of evidence was upgraded. A qualitative study on contextual factors was conducted for the second edition of the guide to explore the value stakeholders placed on the use of chest imaging for monitoring the development or resolution of COVID-19 sequelae (pulmonary, cardiac) following recovery from an acute episode.