[Diagnostic imaging findings in COVID-19]

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic.
• Accurate and timely diagnosis is crucial for patient management and public health.
• Diagnostic imaging plays a role in identifying COVID-19 pneumonia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and summarize the typical diagnostic imaging findings of COVID-19 on CT scans.
• To highlight characteristic CT features associated with COVID-19.
• To discuss the limitations and diagnostic performance of CT in COVID-19 detection.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature and case series on COVID-19 imaging.
• Analysis of reported CT findings in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
• Discussion of imaging features differentiating COVID-19 from other pulmonary conditions.

Main Results:

• Common CT findings include bilateral, peripheral, and multilobar ground-glass opacities with vascular enlargement.
• Consolidations, crazy paving, and reticulation patterns are observed during disease progression.
• Lymphadenopathy, pleural effusions, and pneumothorax are rare and may indicate alternative diagnoses.

Conclusions:

• Characteristic CT findings, particularly ground-glass opacities, are highly suggestive of COVID-19 during an epidemic.
• Early CT scans may be normal, and imaging alone has limitations in definitively diagnosing COVID-19.
• Imaging findings should be interpreted in the clinical context of suspected COVID-19.