Abstract

WHAT COVID-19 PNEUMONIA LOOKS LIKE: IN-SIGHT BY HRCT CHEST

Zubair Ahmad*, Naseer Ahmad Khan, Binish Arif, Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, Sajjad Ahmad Dar

ABSTRACT

Aim: One of the most common symptoms in patients infected with corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a respiratory complaint. As a result, the current research was conducted to assess HRCT imaging findings in this part of the world. Method: The present retrospective study comprises 227 COVID-19 infected patients from an imaging centre in the heart of Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K, India. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive patients who underwent HRCT chest were included in the study. The patients who tested negative for HRCT were excluded from the study. Depending on the lung lobes involvement, the HRCT positive patients were classified into three categories mild, moderate and severe. Result: We found significant pneumonia-like abnormalities in 72.24% (164/227) percent of the participants. However, 63 (RTPCR positive) subjects with suspected COVID-19 infection, showed normal lung findings. Males accounted for the most cases (62.99%) of the 227 patients, with a higher percentage (82.7%) of cases aged >60 years. Among the 164 HRCT positive subjects, 73 (44.5%) were classified as mild, 49 (29.8%) as moderate, and 42 (25.6%) as severe. Lower lung lobe and bilateral lung involvement were found in a higher percentage of cases. The majority of respondents had higher percentage of subpleural GGOs and vascular prominence. Conclusion: HRCT is a vital method for diagnosis and categorising the seriousness of COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pneumonia; Lung abnormality; HRCT imaging; Kashmir