Computed tomography in coronavirus disease 2019: diagnosis and clinical significance

Objective To investigate the computed tomography (CT) features of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the clinical significance, so as to improve our understanding of CT imaging of this disease. Methods The chest CT features of seven COVID-19 patients, who were diagnosed by virus nucleic acid test from Jan. 25 to Feb. 15, 2020 in Changhai Hospital of Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University), were analyzed retrospectively. There were six males and one female, aged (51.1±18.8) years (range 29-75 years). All the seven patients received chest CT plain scan examimation. The CT images were interpreted by two experienced senior radiologists, and the distribution, location and density of lesions, number of involved lobes, air bronchogram, mediastinal lymphadenopathy and pleural effusion were analyzed. Results The average time from onset of symptoms to CT examination was 3.6 d (range 1-9 d) in the seven COVID-19 patients. The lesions were distributed in single lung in one case and bilateral lungs in six cases. The lesions involved middle and lateral fields of lungs in five cases and the whole field of lungs in two cases. The lesions showed ground-glass opacity in four cases and mixed shadow in three cases. The lesions involved two or less lobes in four cases and five lobes in three cases. One case had air bronchogram. No mediastinal lymphadenopathy or pleural effusion were found. Conclusion COVID-19 patients have characteristic CT findings, which has important clinical significance for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. However, the diagnosis should be confirmed based on the patient's epidemic history, clinical symptoms and laboratory indicators.