Radiological Findings of COVID-19 Patients in Italy

The emergence of COVID-19/SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) was an outbreak that began in December 2019 and rose to pandemic levels in 2020. One of the largest problems with COVID-19 is the typical delay in testing and diagnosis that can lead to additional transmission of the disease. Under consultation with a board-certified radiologist, the study team evaluated the common radiological findings of COVID-19 on computed tomography (CT) and compared the efficacy of chest radiographs (i.e., x-rays) to CT in diagnosing COVID-19.

In 2020, the authors completed a retrospective review of radiologic imaging data (i.e., the original imaging report notes) from Italy performed on 47 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 in Italy during the national outbreak from February to March 2020. Radiologic images were obtained from Società Italiana di Radiologia Medica e Interventistica radiological database of COVID-19 patients. Each case was analyzed for whether they had positive findings on either chest radiograph or CT or both among patients who had positive COVID-19 test results.

The authors found significant radiological finding similarities among the 47 COVID-19 positive case studies from Italy during the February to March 2020 time period. Ground glass opacities and crazy paving were the most significant findings, resembling the findings in China and other Coronavirus strains. The authors' statistical analyses indicated that CT scans were more reliable by 30.7% than chest radiographs in identifying signs of COVID-19. In cases where either an initial negative swab for COVID-19 or providers lacked patient social histories, chest radiographs were used to show clinical findings consistent with COVID-19.

Based on these results, chest radiographs appear to be a consistent method to assist in the diagnosis of most COVID-19 cases. The authors discuss several scenarios in community-based and non-hospital US settings for COVID-19 diagnostic processes.