Clinical characteristics and high-resolution computed tomography findings of 805 patients with mild or moderate infection from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a global pandemic. Currently, the predominant strain is SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2 in many countries. Understanding its infection characteristics can facilitate clinical management. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to characterize the clinical, laboratory, and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings in patients with mild or moderate infection from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2 between April 4th and April 17th, 2022. The clinical characteristics, laboratory features, and HRCT images were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 805 patients were included (411 males and 394 females, median age 33 years old). The infection was mild, moderate, severe, and asymptomatic in 490 (60.9%), 37 (4.6%), 0 (0.0%), and 278 (34.5%) patients, respectively. Notably, 186 (23.1%), 96 (11.9%), 265 (32.9%), 11 (3.4%), 7 (0.9%), and 398 (49.4%) patients had fever, cough, throat discomfort, stuffy or runny nose, fatigue, and no complaint, respectively. Furthermore, 162 (20.1%), 332 (41.2%), and 289 (35.9%) patients had decreased white blood cell counts, reduced lymphocytes, and elevated C-reactive protein levels, respectively. HRCT revealed pneumonia in 53 (6.6%) patients. The majority of the lung involvements were ground-glass opacity (50, 94.3%) mostly in the subpleural area. The grade of lung injury was mainly mild (90.6%). Short-term follow-ups showed that most patients with pneumonia recovered. CONCLUSION: Most patients with mild or moderate infection from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2 were adults, with fever and upper respiratory symptoms as the main clinical presentations. Lower respiratory infection was mild, with ground-glass opacity in the subpleural area as the main finding.

Early clinical and CT features of COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia from a fever observation ward in Ningbo, China.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to compare the early clinical manifestations, laboratory results and chest computed tomography (CT) images of COVID-19 patients with those of other community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients to differentiate CAP from COVID-19 before reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results are obtained. METHODS: The clinical and laboratory data and chest CT images of 51 patients were assessed in a fever observation ward for evidence of COVID-19 between January and February 2020. RESULTS: 24 patients had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, whereas 27 individuals had negative results. No statistical difference in clinical features was found between COVID-19 and CAP patients, except for diarrhoea. There was a significant difference in lymphocyte and eosinophil counts between COVID-19 and CAP patients. In total, 22 (91.67%) COVID-19 patients had bilateral involvement and multiple lesions according to their lung CT images; the left lower lobe (87.50%) and right lower lobe (95.83%) were affected most often, and all lesions were located in the peripheral zones of the lung. The most common CT feature of COVID-19 was ground-glass opacity, found in 95.83% of patients, compared to 66.67% of CAP patients. CONCLUSION: Diarrhoea, lymphocyte counts, eosinophil counts and CT findings (e.g. ground-glass opacity) could help to distinguish COVID-19 from CAP at an early stage of infection, based on findings from our fever observation ward.

Chest CT imaging features and clinical outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A single-center case study in Ningbo, China.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the chest CT imaging features and clinical outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Ningbo, China. METHODS: In this retrospective study, twenty-eight confirmed and seven highly suspected cases of COVID-19 were enrolled in Ningbo first hospital from January 26, 2020 to March 5, 2020. Cases were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The initial and follow-up chest CT imaging features, epidemiological history, and outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: The average age of the patients was 57.3 ± 15.3 years (range: 27-96 years), including 25 females and 10 males. On CT images, 89.3% (25/28) confirmed and 100% (7/7) suspected patients had ground-glass opacities (GGOs), and GGOs with mixed consolidations were observed in 35.7% (10/28) confirmed and 42.9% (3/7) suspected cases, most of these lesions were distributed under the peripheral of both lungs. 17 confirmed and 4 suspected cases had a history of participating in Ningbo Tian-tong Temple rituals and all had GGOs in their lungs during the initial CT scan. As of March 25, 2020, the lung lesions of our cases were significantly resolved and all patients have been discharged from the hospital. CONCLUSION: The most common chest CT features are multiple bilateral and peripheral GGOs with mixed consolidations or not in the lungs of patients with COVID-19. Chest CT plays an important role in the diagnosis and monitoring treatment response of this disease. There was no reported death in our cases.