Radiological characteristics of coronavirus patients.

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis relies on various testing methods.
• Computed tomography (CT) plays a role in assessing lung involvement in viral pneumonia.
• Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a primary diagnostic tool for COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the radiological findings in COVID-19 patients with positive thoracic CT scans.
• To correlate CT findings with RT-PCR results and clinical parameters.
• To assess the diagnostic utility of CT in RT-PCR negative cases.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 1727 patients tested for COVID-19 via RT-PCR between May 2020 and August 2021.
• Thoracic CT scans were performed on days 7-8 post-symptom onset for a subset of patients.
• CT findings were categorized using the Radiological Society of North America's recommended reporting system.

Main Results:

• 1417 out of 1727 patients (82%) had positive CT findings.
• Higher CT-positive rates were observed in patients with elevated blood markers and lower lymphocyte/albumin levels (P < .05).
• RT-PCR was positive in 75.7% of patients with positive CT results.

Conclusions:

• Thoracic CT is crucial for diagnosing COVID-19 in RT-PCR negative individuals.
• CT effectively visualizes lung involvement and disease progression in RT-PCR positive patients.
• Delayed CT imaging may increase the risk of healthcare-associated infection transmission.