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Lung CT Segmentation to Identify Consolidations and Ground Glass Areas for Quantitative Assesment of SARS-CoV Pneumonia
Published on: December 19, 2020
Clinical and radiological characteristics of COVID-19: a multicentre, retrospective, observational study
1Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Insights
This study analyzed COVID-19 patients during China's epidemic peak, finding fever, cough, and dyspnea were common symptoms. Severe cases showed more lung involvement and diffuse lesions, highlighting key clinical and radiological features of coronavirus disease 2019.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Radiology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Limited multicentre cohort investigations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exist.
- This study focused on clinical and chest computed tomography (CT) characteristics of COVID-19 patients during the epidemic peak in China.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical and chest CT features of COVID-19 patients.
- To analyze epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics during the peak epidemic.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 189 confirmed COVID-19 patients from seven hospitals in four Chinese provinces.
- Data collected from January 18, 2020, to February 3, 2020.
Main Results:
- Common symptoms included fever, cough, fatigue, myalgia, diarrhea, and headache. Hypertension was the most frequent comorbidity.
- Clinical signs included dyspnea, hypoxia, leukopenia, lymphocytopenia, and neutropenia. Radiological findings showed subpleural distribution and mixed ground-glass opacity with consolidation (mGGO-C).
- Severe disease was associated with more severe lobe involvement and diffuse lesions. Wuhan lockdown measures showed some alleviation of symptoms and improved lung involvement.
Conclusions:
- Fever, cough, and dyspnea were primary symptoms of COVID-19 at initial diagnosis during the epidemic peak.
- Lymphocytopenia and hypoxemia were common accompanying conditions.
- Severe COVID-19 cases exhibited greater lobe involvement and diffuse pulmonary lesions.
Background:
Multicentre cohort investigations of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been limited. We investigated the clinical and chest computed tomography characteristics of patients with COVID-19 at the peak of the epidemic from multiple centres in China.
Methods:
We retrospectively analysed the epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of 189 patients with confirmed COVID-19 who were admitted to seven hospitals in four Chinese provinces from 18 January 2020 to 3 February 2020.
Results:
The mean patient age was 44 years and 52.9% were men; 186/189 had ≥1 co-existing medical condition. Fever, cough, fatigue, myalgia, diarrhoea, and headache were common symptoms at onset; hypertension was the most common co-morbidity. Common clinical signs included dyspnoea, hypoxia, leukopenia, lymphocytopenia, and neutropenia; most lesions exhibited subpleural distribution. The most common radiological manifestation was mixed ground-glass opacity with consolidation (mGGO-C); most patients had grid-like shadows and some showed paving stones. Patients with hypertension, dyspnoea, or hypoxia exhibited more severe lobe involvement and diffusely distributed lesions. Patients in severely affected areas exhibited higher body temperature; more fatigue and dyspnoea; and more manifestations of multiple lesions, lobe involvement, and mGGO-C. During the Wuhan lockdown period, cough, nausea, and dyspnoea were alleviated in patients with newly confirmed COVID-19; lobe involvement was also improved.
Conclusions:
Among patients with COVID-19 hospitalised at the peak of the epidemic in China, fever, cough, and dyspnoea were the main symptoms at initial diagnosis, accompanied by lymphocytopenia and hypoxaemia. Patients with severe disease showed more severe lobe involvement and diffuse pulmonary lesion distribution.
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