Atypical chest radiological feature in a patient with nCOVID-19

ABSTRACT

Classical high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) pattern in nCOVID-19 pneumonia is bilateral, basal, peripheral, subpleural, bronchopneumonia. Ground-glass opacities and consolidation are the most common initial radiological findings. However, chest computed tomography (CT) should not be used as an independent diagnostic tool to exclude or confirm COVID-19. CT is not a standard diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of COVID-19, but CT findings help to suggest the diagnosis in the appropriate setting. Chest CT findings should be correlated with epidemiologic history, clinical presentation, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results. Many other diseases can mimic nCOVID-19 in HRCT and vice versa. We report an atypical radiological feature in RT-PCR-confirmed nCOVID-19 pneumonia case. HRCT showed unilateral peripheral ground-glass opacity. Atypical HRCT features in nCOVID-19 described in literature include central involvement, peribronchovascular involvement, isolated upper lobe involvement, nodular opacities, lobar consolidation, solitary opacity, unilateral lung involvement, mediastinal adenopathy, cavitory lesions, pleural and pericardial effusion, and subpleural sparing. When radiological manifestations are atypical, diagnosis of nCOVID-19 pneumonia should be by exclusion of other causes for the radiological abnormality. © Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth 2022.