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Updated: Dec 25, 2025
Lung CT Segmentation to Identify Consolidations and Ground Glass Areas for Quantitative Assesment of SARS-CoV Pneumonia
Published on: December 19, 2020
Coronavirus disease 2019: initial chest CT findings
Zhiming Zhou1, Dajing Guo1, Chuanming Li1
1Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Insights
Chest CT scans reveal ground-glass opacities and consolidations as key indicators of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Increased CT scores in later stages suggest disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pulmonology
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a significant global health concern.
- Understanding the natural progression of COVID-19 on imaging is crucial for diagnosis and management.
- Chest computed tomography (CT) plays a vital role in evaluating pulmonary involvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically analyze CT findings in early and progressive stages of COVID-19.
- To identify changes in pulmonary parenchymal abnormalities during the natural course of the disease.
- To correlate CT findings with disease severity.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of initial chest CT data from 62 confirmed COVID-19 patients.
- Patients were categorized into early-stage (symptoms ≤4 days) and progressive-stage (symptoms 4-7 days) groups.
- Assessment of CT characteristics, distribution, size, and CT score of pulmonary abnormalities.
Main Results:
- Ground-glass opacity was the predominant finding (61.3%), followed by consolidation (35.5%).
- No cavitation, reticular patterns, or bronchial wall thickening were observed.
- Progressive-stage patients showed significantly higher CT scores (p=0.004) compared to early-stage patients.
Conclusions:
- Multiple peripheral ground-glass opacities with consolidations are characteristic CT findings of COVID-19.
- CT score can effectively evaluate disease severity.
- Typical CT alterations warrant consideration for COVID-19 in differential diagnosis.
Objectives:
To systematically analyze CT findings during the early and progressive stages of natural course of coronavirus disease 2019 and also to explore possible changes in pulmonary parenchymal abnormalities during these two stages.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed the initial chest CT data of 62 confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 patients (34 men, 28 women; age range 20-91 years old) who did not receive any antiviral treatment between January 21 and February 4, 2020, in Chongqing, China. Patients were assigned to the early-stage group (onset of symptoms within 4 days) or progressive-stage group (onset of symptoms within 4-7 days) for analysis. CT characteristics and the distribution, size, and CT score of pulmonary parenchymal abnormalities were assessed.
Results:
In our study, the major characteristic of coronavirus disease 2019 was ground-glass opacity (61.3%), followed by ground-glass opacity with consolidation (35.5%), rounded opacities (25.8%), a crazy-paving pattern (25.8%), and an air bronchogram (22.6%). No patient presented cavitation, a reticular pattern, or bronchial wall thickening. The CT scores of the progressive-stage group were significantly greater than those of the early-stage group (p = 0.004).
Conclusions:
Multiple ground-glass opacities with consolidations in the periphery of the lungs were the primary CT characteristic of coronavirus disease 2019. CT score can be used to evaluate the severity of the disease. If these typical alterations are found, then the differential diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 must be considered.
Key Points:
• Multiple GGOs with consolidations in the periphery of the lungs were the primary CT characteristic of COVID-19. • The halo sign may be a special CT feature in the early-stage COVID-19 patients. • Significantly increased CT score may indicate the aggravation of COVID-19 in the progressive stage.
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