Radiological Findings From 101 Patients With Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hamadan, West of Iran: Typical and Atypical Features

Farideh Gharekhanloo,Fariba Keramat,Seyyed Hamid Hashemi,Mahsa Gharekhanloo,Mohammad Mahdi Majzoubi,Farzaneh Esna-Ashari,Salman Khazaei,Mojgan Mamani,Saeed Bashirian

doi:10.34172/ijer.2021.23

Abstract

Background and aims: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread widely throughout the world and become a pandemic disease. In this study, we decided to investigate the chest computed tomography (CT) findings in COVID-19 patients in Hamadan, west of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection from February to March 2020. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and chest CT findings of identified COVID-19 patients were assessed. Results: The mean age of the patients was 55.21 ± 14.08 years, and 54 (53.47%) of them were male. With regard to clinical manifestations, 82.18%, 72.28% and 54.46% of COVID-19 patients had dry cough, dyspnea, and fever, respectively. The right lower lobe was the most commonly and severely involved lope (69%), followed by left lower lobe, right middle lobe, and lingual segment; however, the anterior segment of upper lobes showed the least involvement with abnormality in the late course of the disease. The most common pattern was ground glass opacity (GGO), but atypical patterns such as round pneumonia, moderate to severe pleural effusion, and segmental lobar consolidation were seen without evidence of mediastinal adenopathy, cavitation, or nodular lesion. Chest X-ray (CXR) was not a sensitive method as the first-line imaging method because 34.65% of them were normal. Conclusion: CXR is not a sensitive method as the first-line imaging method (34.65% normal first CXR), but chest CT is a very sensitive and nonspecific modality for diagnosis of COVID-19. The lower lobe and posterior basal segments of the lungs are the most involved sites in most cases. About 12% showed atypical chest CT findings.

Highlights

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province of China and spread to a growing number of countries.[1]
Chest X-ray (CXR) is not a sensitive method as the first-line imaging method (34.65% normal first CXR), but chest computed tomography (CT) is a very sensitive and nonspecific modality for diagnosis of COVID-19
Alongside severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), COVID-19 is another common type of coronavirus that infects humans.[2]

Summary

Introduction

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province of China and spread to a growing number of countries.[1]. Older patients are more likely to have respiratory failure due to severe alveolar damage.[10] Old age, male gender, and presence of comorbidities are high risk factors for poor prognosis of the disease.[1]. We decided to investigate the chest computed tomography (CT) findings in COVID-19 patients in Hamadan, west of Iran. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and chest CT findings of identified COVID-19 patients were assessed. Chest X-ray (CXR) was not a sensitive method as the first-line imaging method because 34.65% of them were normal. Conclusion: CXR is not a sensitive method as the first-line imaging method (34.65% normal first CXR), but chest CT is a very sensitive and nonspecific modality for diagnosis of COVID-19.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion