Approach to the main imaging findings resulting from Respiratory Syndrome caused by COVID-19

Rosana Brambilla Ederli,Elorraine Coutinho Mathias Santos,Roberta Rosa De Souza,Murilo Neves Do Nascimento,Felipe Antônio Basolli Neves,João Pedro Brambilla Ederli,Ildeny Alves Dos Santos,Maikiane Aparecida Nascimento

doi:10.33448/rsd-v9i8.6831

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the family of coronaviruses and is an infectious disease that threatens public health worldwide. The definitive diagnosis of the new coronavirus is made by molecular tests used in breathing tests, such as, for example, or rubbing the throat. However, most of the time, infectious diseases are diagnosed employing symptoms, laboratory, and image exams, like x-ray, computed tomography, and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. The present study aimed to analyze the main imaging tests found in the respiratory syndrome caused by the new coronavirus. This research deals with a narrative review of the literature published so far, having a descriptive and qualitative nature. A search took place in the databases of virtual health libraries. It was refined by Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Electronic Scientific Library (SCIELO), BIREME (Regional Library of Medicine), and MEDLINE. Among the authors published, the occurrence of ground-glass opacities, isolation, or multifocal, consolidations such as cardiomegaly, decreased air space, aerobocograms, and pleural effusion were observed. Also, some findings had atypical characteristics. We conclude that in several formed patterns found to characterize a lung disease, with main optional bilateral, peripheral, and essential features, with rounded morphologies, presence of lymph node enlargement, pleural effusion, excavation, and nodules in the most severe cases. In this way, it is suggested that the imaging exams be complementary to the laboratory diagnosis.

Highlights

In December 2019, in China, a group of patients was admitted to local hospitals, presenting with severe pneumonia with unknown cause (Singhal, 2020)
COVID-19 infection is associated with significant morbidity, especially in patients with chronic medical conditions that cause detectable imaging changes
In the scenario of severe lung disease, organization and fibrosis may occur. These findings are not indicated for the initial screening of suspect patients, but they help satisfactorily in the evaluation of severe complications

Summary

Introduction

In December 2019, in China, a group of patients was admitted to local hospitals, presenting with severe pneumonia with unknown cause (Singhal, 2020). The new virus, belonging to the Coronavirus family, was named SARS-CoV-2, more popularly known as COVID-19 (Zhu et al, 2020). It is responsible for the lower respiratory infection that can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (Huang, et al, 2020a). Modeling studies reported a doubling time of the epidemic to 1.8 days (Singhal, 2020). The virus has spread throughout the world, infecting approximately 10 million people and a further 500,000 deaths

Methods

Results

Conclusion