CT Characterization of COVID-19 Infection: Analysis of 1000 PCR Positive Cases in First and Second Waves

Abstract

Background: There is a wide variety of CT radiological findings of COVID-19 infection, this study aimed to analyze retrospectively the similarities and differences of CT radiological findings between first and second waves in the confirmed coronavirus patients. Materials and methods: comparative retrospective study between two COVID-19 pandemic waves was conducted on 1000 patients who were diagnosed as COVID-19 patients, at Assiut University hospital, 500 patients in the period from May 2020 to August 2020, while the other 500 patients were in the period from October 2020 to January 2021, all underwent MSCT chest and a comparison between similarities and differences of CT radiological findings was done. Results: Both waves showed nearly the same mean and percentage of total CT severity score with no significant difference between them as p-value > 0.05. There is also a positive moderate correlation between age and total MSCT severity score of the lung in the first wave (r=0.51, p-value<0.001), while a significant positive mild correlation in the second wave (r=0.31 and p-value <0.001), atypical findings were encountered in the second wave more than in the first wave with the most common one was pulmonary fibrosis by (7.2%). Conclusion: Great similarity in CT radiological findings between the two COVID-19 pandemic waves was detected. However, the main difference between them was in the severity of lung involvement in different age groups and demonstration of atypical findings which was more common in the second wave.

Comparison of Chest Computed Tomography (CT) Imaging Patterns and Severity among COVID-19 Patients during the First and Fourth Waves in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…Te study found that GGO and consolidations were the most common chest CT features among COVID-19 patients during both waves. Furthermore, bilateral lung involvement with lower lobe involvement was predominantly seen in both waves which were in comparative agreement with previous knowledge [9,19,20]. Traction bronchiectasis and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, delayed CT features of COVID-19, were seen predominantly among the frst-wave patients [9].…”

“…Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) is a viral infectious disease that was frst detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China in 2019 [1]. It is a multisystem syndrome with a spectrum of presentation ranging from asymptomatic disease to life-threatening complications requiring invasive management like extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [2].…”