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Updated: Oct 20, 2025

Lung CT Segmentation to Identify Consolidations and Ground Glass Areas for Quantitative Assesment of SARS-CoV Pneumonia
08:05

Lung CT Segmentation to Identify Consolidations and Ground Glass Areas for Quantitative Assesment of SARS-CoV Pneumonia

Published on: December 19, 2020

14.4K

Chest CT abnormalities in COVID-19: a systematic review

Ramy Abou Ghayda1,2, Keum Hwa Lee3, Jae Seok Kim4

  • 1Division of Urology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115, USA.

International Journal of Medical Sciences
|September 15, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Chest computed tomography (CT) is crucial for diagnosing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study details common CT findings like vascular enlargement and ground-glass opacity in 3768 patients, aiding in COVID-19 diagnosis.

Area of Science:

  • Radiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pulmonology

Background:

  • Computed tomography (CT) of the chest is a primary diagnostic tool for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
  • Understanding CT findings is vital for assessing disease severity and guiding patient management.
  • Previous reviews have not comprehensively compiled radiologic characteristics from extensive case series.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To document chest CT findings in patients with confirmed COVID-19.
  • To analyze the association between CT findings and clinical severity.
  • To provide a comprehensive summary of radiologic characteristics in a large cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science (up to May 4, 2020).
  • Inclusion of 31 case reports comprising 3768 patients with confirmed COVID-19.
  • Review of reference lists from previous systematic reviews.

Main Results:

  • The most frequent CT findings included vascular enlargement (84.8%), ground-glass opacity (GGO) (60.1%), air-bronchogram (47.8%), and consolidation (41.4%).
  • Lung lesions were predominantly peripheral (72.2%) and bilateral (76%).
  • Common symptoms were fever (78.7%) and cough (60.2%), with normal white blood cell and lymphocyte counts in most patients.

Conclusions:

  • This study provides the first comprehensive summary of chest CT radiologic characteristics in 3768 COVID-19 patients from case series.
  • CT findings such as vascular enlargement and GGO are key indicators in COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • A comprehensive diagnostic approach incorporating CT is recommended for all suspected and exposed individuals.

Keywords:
Computed tomography (CT)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Systematic review

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