Imaging Features of Pediatric COVID-19 on Chest Radiography and Chest CT: A Retrospective, Single-Center Study

Abstract

Rationale and ObjectivesThis study aims to reveal the imaging features of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children.Materials and MethodsSixty-nine chest radiographs and 37 chest CT examinations of 74 children (36 male; median (interquartile range) age:11 (6.25–15) years, 38 female; median (interquartile range) age: 12 (5.75–16) years) with positive real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results between March 10 and May 31, 2020, were evaluated in this retrospective study. Differences in 0–<6, 6–<12, and 12–18 years of age groups were assessed with the Fisher's exact test or Kruskal-Wallis tests.ResultsRight-sided (3/69, 4.3%) or bilateral (3/69, 4.3%) ground-glass opacities without significant difference in age groups were depicted as radiographic findings related to COVID-19 in children. Opacities were either single (7/37, 18.9%) or bilateral (7/37, 18.9%) around the distal third of the bronchovascular bundle on CT. There was no significant difference in the median size of the largest opacities, total numbers of opacities and involved lobes, and the distance of the closest opacity to the pleura among age groups (p > 0.05). The rate of ground-glass opacities with or without consolidation (17/37, 45.94%) was higher than consolidation alone (6/37, 16.2%). Feeding vessel sign (16/37, 43.2%), halo sign (9/37, 24.3%), pleural thickening (6/37, 16.2%), interlobular interstitial thickening (5/37, 13.5%), and lymphadenopathy (3/37, 8.1%) were other imaging findings.ConclusionUnilateral or bilateral distributed ground-glass opacities often associated with feeding vessel sign, halo sign, and pleural thickening on chest CT without significant differences between age groups were findings of COVID-19 in children.