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CT images help radiologists diagnose SARS

Radiologists have used computed tomography (CT), a diagnostic imaging procedure that uses special x-ray equipment to obtain cross-sectional pictures of the body, to better define severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In a study published online May 8, 2003 at www.rsna.organd in the August 2003 issue of the journal Radiology, Anil T. Ahuja, M.D., and a team of physicians from Hong Kong’s Prince of Wales Hospital analyzed the CT images of 73 patients with symptoms and signs suggestive of SARS. The patients were hospitalized from March 11, 2003 to April 2, 2003 during an outbreak of atypical pneumonia at Prince of Wales Hospital.

Estimated fatality rate for Hong Kong SARS higher than previously thought

An international team of researchers has estimated that the fatality rate for SARS is considerably higher than some early estimates. According to a paper published online today in The Lancet, which examines data from the first nine weeks of Hong Kong’s epidemic, the case fatality rate, among those admitted to hospital, in patients 60 years of age and older is estimated to be far higher (43.3%, 95% confidence interval 35.2 to 52.4%) than those below 60 (13.2%, 95% confidence interval 9.8 to 16.8%).