ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE. This series of patients presented to the emergency department (ED) with abdominal pain, without the respiratory symptoms typical of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the abdominal radiologist was the first to suggest COVID-19 infection because of findings in the lung bases on CT of the abdomen. CONCLUSION. COVID-19 infection can present primarily with abdominal symptoms, and the abdominal radiologist must suggest the diagnosis when evaluating the lung bases for typical findings.
Subject(s)
Abdominal Pain/diagnostic imaging , Abdominal Pain/virology , Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections/complications , Coronavirus Infections/diagnostic imaging , Lung/diagnostic imaging , Pneumonia, Viral/complications , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnostic imaging , Adult , COVID-19 , Humans , Lung/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To describe the favorable procedural profile of CT colonography (CTC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Postponement of cancer screening due to COVID-19 has resulted in a backlog of individuals needing to undergo structural examination of the colon. The experience during the initial COVID-19 surge with urgent evaluation of the colon for transplant patients prior to transplant suggests that CTC can be done in a lower risk manner as compared to other structural examinations. The procedural profile of CTC is advantageous during this pandemic as maintaining social distancing and preserving healthcare supplies including PPE are of paramount importance. CTC is an important option to utilize in the screening armamentarium to allow effective screening of average risk asymptomatic individuals in the COVID-19 era.