Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of X-ray findings in hospitalized patients requiring hospitalization with suspected Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and potential differences in the laboratory values and clinical outcomes related to the presence of abnormal chest X-ray (CXR) findings.Methods: A total of 117 patients suspected of COVID-19 pneumonia and hospitalized with symptoms of lower respiratory tract disease were included in this study. Patients were divided into subgroups according to COVID-19 diagnosis and statistical comparisons were made according to CXR findings.Results: In our cohort, CXR abnormalities were more common in patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and were associated with increased mortality. Patients with abnormal chest X-rays had a significantly lower PaO2/FiO2 ratio both in the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups.Conclusion: CXR is a routine examination in all patients with symptoms of lower respiratory tract disease and its findings relate to in-hospital mortality and PaO2/FiO2 ratio. Thus, it can be a significant measure of disease severity, especially in resource restrained settings and emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) since March 2020
The respiratory system is the most frequently affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and patients present with a wide spectrum of symptoms, from mild illness to more severe disease such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission [1,2]
In the age of COVID-19, suspected cases are often hospitalized in special wards and respiratory support must begin before the results of COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are available
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) since March 2020. The respiratory system is the most frequently affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and patients present with a wide spectrum of symptoms, from mild illness to more severe disease such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission [1,2]. Chest X-ray (CXR) is a routine examination in such patients, but its clinical value is often underestimated. In this setting, CXR might play a prognostic role, while its diagnostic value seems uncertain due to the low specificity of its findings in the differentiation between the different infectious agents
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