Journal Article

CT imaging changes of corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19): a multi-center study in Southwest China

Wang, Jian, Chen, Hui, Cao, Yang, Li, Xiaoming, Liu, Chen, Shi, Linping, Xiang, Hongnian, Li, Xiang, Zeng, Wenbing, Chen, Haonan, Li, Xinghui

2020

Overview

Background Since the first case of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection pneumonia was detected in Wuhan, China, a series of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 were found in Southwest China. The aim of this study was to describe the imaging manifestations of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection in southwest China. Methods In this retrospective study, data were collected from 131 patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from 3 Chinese hospitals. Their common clinical manifestations, as well as characteristics and evolvement features of chest CT images, were analyzed. Results A total of 100 (76%) patients had a history of close contact with people living in Wuhan, Hubei. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 included cough, fever. Most of the lesions identified in chest CT images were multiple lesions of bilateral lungs, lesions were more localized in the peripheral lung, 109 (83%) patients had more than two lobes involved, 20 (15%) patients presented with patchy ground glass opacities, patchy ground glass opacities and consolidation of lesions co-existing in 61 (47%) cases. Complications such as pleural thickening, hydrothorax, pericardial effusion, and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes were detected but only in rare cases. For the follow-up chest CT examinations (91 cases), We found 66 (73%) cases changed very quickly, with an average of 3.5 days, 25 cases (27%) presented absorbed lesions, progression was observed in 41 cases (46%), 25 (27%) cases showed no significant changes. Conclusion Chest CT plays an important role in diagnosing COVID-19. The imaging pattern of multifocal peripheral ground glass or mixed consolidation is highly suspicious of COVID-19, that can quickly change over a short period of time.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Adult / Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Betacoronavirus / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Blood / CAT scans / Chest / China / Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Computed tomography / Coronaviridae / Coronavirus / Coronavirus Infections - diagnosis / Coronavirus Infections - diagnostic imaging / Coronaviruses / Cough / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Testing / Diagnostic imaging / Disease transmission / Effusion / Epidemiology / Evolvement / Female / Fever / Health aspects / Hospital patients / Hospitals / Humans / Laboratories / Lesions / Lungs / Lymph nodes / Male / Males / Medical imaging / Medical research / Medicine/Public Health / Middle Aged / Middle East respiratory syndrome / Pandemics / Patients / Pneumonia / Pneumonia, Viral - diagnostic imaging / Respiratory diseases / SARS-CoV-2 / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 / The chest / Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Translational Imaging / Virus diseases / Young Adult