Chest computed tomographic findings of patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia

Abstract

Background In December 2019, pneumonia cases of unknown cause were announced in Wuhan, China. The causative agent of pneumonia was identified as coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the disease was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Purpose To evaluate the usefulness of computed thoracic tomography (CT) and postero anterior (PA) thoracic radiography in patients with COVID-19. Material and Methods Between March and June 2020, the patients who arrived at our hospital with suspicion of COVID-19 were retrospectively analyzed. Thorax CT findings of the 281 patients (142 females and 139 males; age range 3–91 years) with positive PCR tests were evaluated. Lesions in the lung parenchyma were examined according to their number, localization, and distribution. PA chest radiograms were classified into two groups, positive and negative for the lung parenchymal lesions. Results Of the total 281 patients with PCR-positive COVID-19, CT examinations were normal in 107 (38.1%), and positive CT findings for pneumonia were found in 174 patients (61.9%). Bilateral involvement was observed in 100 (57.5%) of the 174 patients with positive CT findings, and unilateral involvement was observed in 74 (42.5%) of them. According to the localization of the lesions, peripheral subpleural distribution occurred in 160 of the 174 patients (91.9). The most common lesion was the ground glass opacities (GGO). In 77 of 281 PCR-positive patients (27.4), pulmonary lesions were found on PA chest radiograms. Conclusion The presence of bilateral posterior subpleural GGO, nodule, and consolidation in thoracic CT are significant in terms of COVID-19 pneumonia.

A pulmonary rehabilitation program is an effective strategy to improve forced vital capacity, muscle strength, and functional exercise capacity similarly in adults and older people with post-severe COVID-19 who required mechanical ventilation

“…All over the world, millions of people suffered from COVID-19-related severe acute respiratory syndrome [ 1 , 2 ]. Due to their serious respiratory symptoms and, in some cases, acute respiratory difficulty, these patients required prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV) [ 3 ].…”

Prediction of mortality, requirement of ICU and hospitalization: the COVID-outcome prognostic score

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A novel scale based on biomarkers associated with COVID-19 severity can predict the need for hospitalization and intensive care, as well as enhanced probabilities for mortality

“…The control patients for HR, ICR or mortality were those that did not required more than 10L/min of oxygen supplementation, intensive care or did not died within the hospital, respectively. The percentage of lung infiltration was evaluated as described elsewhere 17 – 19 using the Chest CT Score. Briefly, chest computed tomography studies were evaluated by two independent researchers whom divided the lungs into five anatomical regions (one for each lobule), and assigned each one up to five points depending on the percentage of the parenchyma that was infiltrated, adding the points at the end to a maximum of 25 points.…”