Rationale and objectives: To retrospectively analyze the chest imaging findings in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on thin-section CT.
Materials and methods: Fifty-three patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection underwent thin-section CT examination. Two chest radiologists independently evaluated the imaging in terms of distribution, ground-glass opacity (GGO), consolidation, air bronchogram, stripe, enlarged mediastinal lymph node, and pleural effusion.
Results: Fourty-seven cases (88.7%) had findings of COVID-19 infection, and the other six (11.3%) were normal. Among the 47 cases, 78.7% involved both lungs, and 93.6% had peripheral infiltrates distributed along the subpleural area. All cases showed GGO, 59.6% of which were round and 40.4% patchy. Other imaging features included "crazy-paving pattern" (89.4%), consolidation (63.8%), and air bronchogram (76.6%). Air bronchograms were observed within GGO (61.7%) and consolidation (70.3%). Neither enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes nor pleural effusion were present. Thirty-three patients (62.3%) were followed an average interval of 6.2 ± 2.9 days. The lesions increased in 75.8% and resorbed in 24.2% of patients.
Conclusion: COVID-19 showed the pulmonary lesions in patients infected with COVID-19 were predominantly distributed peripherally in the subpleural area.
Keywords: Coronavirus; Lung; Multidetector computed tomography; Pneumonia.
Copyright © 2020 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.