| Summary: | To develop Korean coronavirus disease (COVID-19) chest imaging justification guidelines, eight
key questions were selected and the following recommendations were made with the evidencebased
clinical imaging guideline adaptation methodology. It is appropriate not to use chest imaging
tests (chest radiograph or CT) for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in asymptomatic patients. If
reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing is not available or if results are delayed
or are initially negative in the presence of symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, chest imaging tests
may be considered. In addition to clinical evaluations and laboratory tests, chest imaging may
be contemplated to determine hospital admission for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic unhospitalized
patients with confirmed COVID-19. In hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-
19, chest imaging may be advised to determine or modify treatment alternatives. CT angiography
may be considered if hemoptysis or pulmonary embolism is clinically suspected in a
patient with confirmed COVID-19. For COVID-19 patients with improved symptoms, chest imaging
is not recommended to make decisions regarding hospital discharge. For patients with
functional impairment after recovery from COVID-19, chest imaging may be considered to distinguish
a potentially treatable disease.
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