Prognostic Value of Chest CT in the Elderly Patients Admitted with COVID-19 Pneumonia

ABSTRACT

Aim: The late elderly, are the leading group of non-survivors infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Computed tomography (CT) imaging has been recognized as an important diagnostic method for COVID-19. This study aimed to determine the prognostic performance of CT imaging in patients above 75 years old. Material and Methods: After meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria 56 elderly patients, 28 male, and 28 female were included in the study. Two radiologists interpreted CT imaging and a third experienced radiologist was in charge of reviewing the data and imaging findings in the controversial and disagreement cases. The lung score was determined for each patient, and radiologic signs were also examined. Results: The mean age of the patients was 81.4±5.0 years. Thirty-six patients survived, and 20 did not. 28 (50.0%) patients had central involvement, while 25 (44.6%) patients had diffuse involvement. Radiologic signs such as consolidation and air bronchogram were more common among non-survivors than survivors (both p=0.001). The mean lung score for the survivors was 8.75±6.21 and 13.45±6.41 for non-survivors, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p=0.010). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for a cut-off score of 12 was 0.714 (95% CI, 0.577 to 0.827, p=0.003). Conclusion: It seems that using lung scores can play a very important role in predicting the condition of hospitalized patients over 75 years old.