Evolution of chest CT scan manifestations in a patient recovered from COVID-19 severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome

Daniel Maranatha; Paulus Rahardjo; Rikky Lusman

doi:10.1016/j.rmcr.2021.101342

Evolution of chest CT scan manifestations in a patient recovered from COVID-19 severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome

Respir Med Case Rep. 2021:32:101342. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2021.101342. Epub 2021 Jan 9.

Authors

Daniel Maranatha¹, Paulus Rahardjo², Rikky Lusman³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, Dr Soetomo Academic Hospital, Indonesia.
² Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, Dr Soetomo Academic Hospital, Indonesia.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Mitra Keluarga Surabaya Hospital, Indonesia.

Abstract

A male patient with severe pneumonia due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which developed in the second week since the first symptoms and improved without mechanical ventilation. The patient had epilepsy as a comorbid disease and his routinely consumed antiepileptic drugs were likely to cause alterations of the immune system. Ground-glass opacity (GGO), consolidation, and reticular pattern are typical radiological features of COVID-19 pneumonia. Less common findings were septal thickening, bronchiectasis, pleural thickening, and subpleural involvement. These radiological abnormalities evolve throughout the course of the disease. In this case report, a GGO lesion was seen in thin-section CT scans on the 30th and 45th day since the onset of symptoms. The consolidation subsided with time and on the 65th day, minimal GGO was seen in CT scan without pulmonary fibrosis and bronchiectasis.

Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; COVID-19; Computed tomography scan; Coronavirus; Ground-glass opacity.

Publication types

Case Reports