CT findings of COVID-19 pneumonia in ICU-patients

CT findings of COVID-19 pneumonia in ICU-patients

Riccardo Cau, Zeno Falaschi, Alessio Paschè, Pietro Danna, Roberto Arioli, Chiara D. Arru, Domenico Zagaria, Stefano Tricca, Jasjit S. Suri, Mannudeep K. Karla, Alessandro Carriero, Luca Saba

Background: In December 2019, a cluster of unknown etiology pneumonia cases occurred in Wuhan, China leading to identification of the responsible pathogen as SARS-coV-2. Since then, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to the entire world. Computed Tomography (CT) is frequently used to assess severity and complications of COVID-19 pneumonia. The purpose of this study is to compare the CT patterns and clinical characteristics in intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Design and Methods: This retrospective study included 218 consecutive patients (136 males; 82 females; mean age 63±15 years) with laboratory-confirmed SARS-coV-2. Patients were categorized in two different groups: (a) ICU patients and (b) non-ICU inpatients. We assessed the type and extent of pulmonary opacities on chest CT exams and recorded the information on comorbidities and laboratory values for all patients. Results: Of the 218 patients, 23 (20 males: 3 females; mean age 60 years) required ICU admission, 195 (118 males: 77 females, mean age 64 years) were admitted to a clinical ward. Compared with non-ICU patients, ICU patients were predominantly males (60% versus 83% p=0.03), had more comorbidities, a positive CRP (p=0.04) and higher LDH values (p=0.008). ICU patients’ chest CT demonstrated higher incidence of consolidation (p=0.03), mixed lesions (p=0.01), bilateral opacities (p

2021

ICU, covid-19, ct, Severity score

10.4081/jphr.2021.2270

Journal of Public Health Research

PAGEPress Publications

Public aspects of medicine