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Purpose Due to the emergence of the new coronavirus 2019 and the lack of sufficient information about infected patients, this study was conducted to investigate the chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings of patients infected with the new coronavirus 2019. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on COVID-19 patients referred to Medical Imaging Centers of Sari, Mazandaran, Iran, on March 2020 for computed tomography (CT) scan. Symptomatic patients were referred to the Medical Imaging Center for diagnosis confirmation through CT scan. In addition to age and sex, HRCT findings were collected from the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for further evaluations. Results Out of 552 patients with mean age of 51.2 ± 14.8 years, the male/female ratio was 1.38 to 1. The most common expressive findings in patients were ground-glass opacity (GGO) (87.3%), peripheral distribution (82.4%), and posterior distribution (81.5%). The most conflicting findings in patients were pleural effusion (7.6%), peribronchovascular distribution (7.6%), and lymphadenopathy (5.1%). The peripheral distribution (p = 0.034), round opacities (p = 0.02), single lobe (p = 0.003), and pleural effusion (p = 0.037) were significant in people under and over 50 years of age. Conclusion In summary, the present study indicated that in addition to GGO, peripheral distribution findings could be a vital diagnostic choice in COVID-19 patients.

Purpose: Due to the emergence of the new Coronavirus-2019 and the lack of sufficient information about infected patients, this study was conducted to investigate the Chest High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) findings of patients infected with the new Coronavirus 2019.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on COVID-19 patients referred to Medical Imaging Centers of Sari, Mazandaran, Iran, on March 2020 for Computed Tomography Scan (CT-Scan). Symptomatic patients were referred to the Medical Imaging Center for diagnosis confirmation through CT-scan. In addition to age and sex, HRCT findings were collected from the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for further evaluations.Results: Out of 552 patients with mean age of 14.8 ± 51.2 years, the male/female ratio was 1.38 to 1. The most common expressive findings in patients were ground-glass opacity (GGO) (87.3%), peripheral distribution (82.4%) and posterior distribution (81.5%). The most conflicting findings in patients were pleural effusion (7.6%), peribronchovascular distribution (7.6%), and lymphadenopathy (5.1%). The peripheral distribution (p = 0.034), round opacities (p = 0.02), single lobe (p = 0.003) and pleural effusion (p = 0.037) were significantly in people under and over 50 years of age.Conclusion: In summary, the present study indicated that in addition to GGO, peripheral distribution findings could be a vital diagnostic choice in COVID-19 patients.

Background: Low Back pain (LBP) is a common health problem that affects different aspects of a person's life. Degeneration of the intervertebral disc is a major cause of LBP. Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine. In contrast, interleukin-10 (IL-10) prevents the occurrence of immune over-stimulation by inhibiting inflammation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of these cytokines in LBP patients and in the control group. Methods: In a case-control study 87 patients including 59 patients with low back pain and 28 healthy subjects were examined after magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approval. After recording demographic data, 5 ml of peripheral blood samples were obtained from the subjects and enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) technique was performed to measure IL-10 and IL-17 in serum samples. SPSS software with significance level of P <0.05 was used to compare the results. Result: The case group consisted of 21 males and 38 females with mean age 49.6 yrs. and control group consisted of 14 males and 14 females with mean age of 36. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.5 in the patients and 25.4 in the control group (P>0.05). Serum levels of inflammatory cytokine IL-17 were significantly higher in patients than in controls (P=0.032). Conclusion: Differences in serum levels of IL-17 and IL-10 in the LBP group compared with healthy group may indicate the role of inflammatory and autoimmune processes in causing disk damage. These findings could potentially be used by future studies to develop new LBP therapeutic strategies.