tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Quant Imaging Med Surg
. 2020 Jun;10(6):1307-1317.
doi: 10.21037/qims-20-531.
Chest Lesion CT Radiological Features and Quantitative Analysis in RT-PCR Turned Negative and Clinical Symptoms Resolved COVID-19 Patients
Siyao Du[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Si Gao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guoliang Huang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shu Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wei Chong[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ziyi Jia[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gang Hou[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Y? Xi?ng J W?ng[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lina Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Many studies have described lung lesion computed tomography (CT) features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients at the early and progressive stages. In this study, we aim to evaluate lung lesion CT radiological features along with quantitative analysis for the COVID-19 patients ready for discharge.
Methods: From February 10 to March 10, 2020, 125 COVID-19 patients (age: 16-67 years, 63 males) ready for discharge, with two consecutive negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and no clinical symptoms for more than 3 days, were included. The pre-discharge CT was performed on all patients 1-3 days after the second negative RT-PCR test, and the follow-up CTs were performed on 44 patients 2-13 days later. The imaging features and quantitative analysis were evaluated on both the pre-discharge and the follow-up CTs, by both radiologists and an artificial intelligence (AI) software.
Results: On the pre-discharge CT, the most common CT findings included ground-glass opacity (GGO) (99/125, 79.2%) with bilateral mixed distribution, and fibrosis (56/125, 44.8%) with bilateral subpleural distribution. Enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes were also commonly observed (45/125, 36.0%). AI enabled quantitative analysis showed the right lower lobe was mostly involved, and lesions most commonly had CT value of -570 to -470 HU consistent with GGO. Follow-up CT showed GGO decrease in size and density (40/40, 100%) and fibrosis reduction (17/26, 65.4%). Compared with the pre-discharge CT results, quantitative analysis shows the lung lesion volume regressed significantly at follow-up.
Conclusions: For COVID-19 patients ready for discharge, GGO and fibrosis are the main CT features and they further regress at follow-up.
Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); computed tomography (CT); follow-up; lung; quantitative analysis.
2020 Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved.
. 2020 Jun;10(6):1307-1317.
doi: 10.21037/qims-20-531.
Chest Lesion CT Radiological Features and Quantitative Analysis in RT-PCR Turned Negative and Clinical Symptoms Resolved COVID-19 Patients
Siyao Du[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Si Gao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guoliang Huang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shu Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wei Chong[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ziyi Jia[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gang Hou[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Y? Xi?ng J W?ng[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lina Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32550139
- PMCID: PMC7276361
- DOI: 10.21037/qims-20-531
Abstract
Background: Many studies have described lung lesion computed tomography (CT) features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients at the early and progressive stages. In this study, we aim to evaluate lung lesion CT radiological features along with quantitative analysis for the COVID-19 patients ready for discharge.
Methods: From February 10 to March 10, 2020, 125 COVID-19 patients (age: 16-67 years, 63 males) ready for discharge, with two consecutive negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and no clinical symptoms for more than 3 days, were included. The pre-discharge CT was performed on all patients 1-3 days after the second negative RT-PCR test, and the follow-up CTs were performed on 44 patients 2-13 days later. The imaging features and quantitative analysis were evaluated on both the pre-discharge and the follow-up CTs, by both radiologists and an artificial intelligence (AI) software.
Results: On the pre-discharge CT, the most common CT findings included ground-glass opacity (GGO) (99/125, 79.2%) with bilateral mixed distribution, and fibrosis (56/125, 44.8%) with bilateral subpleural distribution. Enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes were also commonly observed (45/125, 36.0%). AI enabled quantitative analysis showed the right lower lobe was mostly involved, and lesions most commonly had CT value of -570 to -470 HU consistent with GGO. Follow-up CT showed GGO decrease in size and density (40/40, 100%) and fibrosis reduction (17/26, 65.4%). Compared with the pre-discharge CT results, quantitative analysis shows the lung lesion volume regressed significantly at follow-up.
Conclusions: For COVID-19 patients ready for discharge, GGO and fibrosis are the main CT features and they further regress at follow-up.
Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); computed tomography (CT); follow-up; lung; quantitative analysis.
2020 Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved.