COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Review of Typical Ct Findings and Differential Diagnosis

Abstract

Pneumonia that is caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, which is also referred to as 2019-nCoV recently did break out in Wuhan China has been coined the terminology of COVID-19. With the spread of the disease, similar cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in various regions of the world. Because COVID-19 is a relatively new global disease, clinicians, and patients across the globe would initially not be conversant with the clinical features and radiology imaging characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. The causes of pneumonia are protein, many secondary to an underlying cardiorespiratory abnormality while some are related systemic disease. Various imaging techniques generally diagnose cases of Pneumonia. In the current climate, COVID-19 Pneumonia has taken center stage; confirmation relies upon microbiological studies such as real-time polymerase chain reaction or sequencing. These investigations are not usually available in an emergency setting. Computed Tomography (CT) can be used as an essential complement for the diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia in the current epidemic context. But the later may be misleading as other cases of Pneumonia, and interstitial lung disease can easily be confused with COVID-19 Pneumonia. Also, Covid19 Pneumonia may be missed if not considered. The attention of clinicians should be alerted to the possibility of COVID-19 to conduct the appropriate tests to confirm or negate the diagnosis of COVID-19. In asymptomatic as well as in symptomatic patients that have COVID1-9 pneumonia, the initial COVID-19 nuclei acid test results could be normal, which upon subsequent repeat testing would become normal. Still, radiology imaging using a CT scan of thorax would tend to demonstrate various non-specific features that affect a variable number of lobes of the lungs, and these features quickly increase in size when a repeat CT scan of the thorax is undertaken. These findings tend to predate positive COVID-19 test results in some cases of COVID-19. The non-specific changes tend to resolve when the patient resolves from COVID-19 pneumonia. A catalog of radiology images that demonstrate various types of cardio-pulmonary lesions which when encountered by clinicians should alert them to exclude the possibility of COVID-19 Pneumonia has been included in the paper as an aid to alerting clinicians to have a high index of suspicion of radiology images of the thorax which should help them to quickly undertake appropriate tests to confirm or negate the diagnosis of COVID-19 pulmonary infection.