Value of chest imaging in the newborn with suspected COVID-19

This paper presents a newborn (G2P2, gestational age of 39+6 weeks, birth weight of 3,200 g, with normal fetal amniotic fluid) with suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) admitted to our hospital on February 10, 2020, at the birth age of 16 hours and 34 minutes. The Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min were 9 and 10 points, respectively.

The mother of the newborn was exposed to a patient with COVID-19 five days before delivery. The newborn had nausea and vomiting after birth, with feeding intolerance, and full enteral feeding was given on the 6th day after birth. The newborn was in good general condition during the period of hospitalization.

The two 2019-nCoV nucleic acid tests of the newborn were negative on the 5th and 7th days after birth. On the 1st and 8th days after birth, typical pulmonary lesions were detected in the newborn by chest CT. Our study supports that chest imaging examination should be actively performed in the newborn even with a negative 2019-nCoV nucleic acid test in cases where a pregnant woman is exposed to a patient with COVID-19 or is confirmed with 2019-nCoV infection.

For newborns with typical pulmonary lesions, strict quarantine measures are suggested if the possibility of COVID-19 cannot be excluded.