|
Chest CT Findings in Patients with Corona Virus Disease 2019 and its Relationship with Clinical Features.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the chest computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with confirmed corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to evaluate its relationship with clinical features.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study sample consisted of 80 patients diagnosed as COVID-19 from January to February 2020. The chest CT images and clinical data were reviewed and the relationship between them was analyzed.
RESULTS: Totally 80 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were included. With regards to the clinical manifestations, 58/80 (73%) of patients had cough, 61/80 (76%) of patients had high temperature levels. The most frequent CT abnormalities observed were ground glass opacity (GGO) (73/80 cases, 91%), consolidation (50/80 cases, 63%) and interlobular septal thickening (47/80, 59%). Most of the lesions were multiple, with an average of 12±6 lung segments involved. The most common involved lung segments were the dorsal segment of the right lower lobe (69/80, 86%), the posterior basal segment of the right lower lobe (68/80, 85%), the lateral basal segment of the right lower lobe (64/80, 80%), the dorsal segment of the left lower lobe (61/80, 76%) and the posterior basal segment of the left lower lobe (65/80, 81%). The average pulmonary inflammation index (PII) value was (34%±20%) for all the patients. Correlation analysis showed that the PII value was significantly correlated with the values of lymphocyte count, monocyte count, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, days from illness onset and body temperature (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: The common chest CT findings of COVID-19 are multiple GGO, consolidation and interlobular septal thickening in both lungs, which are mostly distributed under the pleura. There are significant correlations between the degree of pulmonary inflammation and the main clinical symptoms and laboratory results. CT plays an important role in the diagnosis and evaluation of this emerging global health emergency.
|
