Jpn J Radiol . Ground-glass opacity (GGO): a review of the differential diagnosis in the era of COVID-19

[tetano]

Jpn J Radiol


. 2021 Apr 26.
doi: 10.1007/s11604-021-01120-w. Online ahead of print.
Ground-glass opacity (GGO): a review of the differential diagnosis in the era of COVID-19


Diletta Cozzi ¹ , Edoardo Cavigli ² , Chiara Moroni ² , Olga Smorchkova ² , Giulia Zantonelli ² , Silvia Pradella ^{2 3} , Vittorio Miele ²



Affiliations

• PMID: 33900542
• DOI: 10.1007/s11604-021-01120-w

Abstract

Thoracic imaging is fundamental in the diagnostic route of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) especially in patients admitted to hospitals. In particular, chest computed tomography (CT) has a key role in identifying the typical features of the infection. Ground-glass opacities (GGO) are one of the main CT findings, but their presence is not specific for this viral pneumonia. In fact, GGO is a radiological sign of different pathologies with both acute and subacute/chronic clinical manifestations. In the evaluation of a subject with focal or diffuse GGO, the radiologist has to know the patient's medical history to obtain a valid diagnostic hypothesis. The authors describe the various CT appearance of GGO, related to the onset of symptoms, focusing also on the ancillary signs that can help radiologist to obtain a correct and prompt diagnosis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Computed tomography; Coronavirus; Differential diagnosis; Ground-glass opacity.