Coronavirus Disease 2019: Initial High Resolution Computed Tomography Imaging Feature Analysis: Report of 7 Cases.

ABSTRACT

The number of reported cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has increased since December 2019. The initial high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images of 7 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, China, were collected and analyzed. The study showed that all patients had had close contact with other COVID-19 patients and presented with fever. The initial white blood cell counts of all patients were normal. Subsequently, the percentage of lymphocytes decreased in 3 patients. In all 7 patients with COVID-19, ground-glass opacity (GGO) was found in the HRCT images, mainly distributed in the subpleural region of the lungs. The HRCT scans of 6 patients showed bilateral lobar lesions, with mainly peripheral subpleural distribution; 1 patient, instead, showed unilateral lobar involvement. The right lung was more extensively involved than the left lung in 6 patients, and the lower lobe was more extensively involved than the upper lobe in 5 patients. The initial chest HRCT images of the lungs of the analyzed COVID-19 patients had specific characteristics. The typical manifestation at both lungs was an extensive GGO-type infiltrate, with thickened vascular bundles and focal center consolidation. Pleural effusion, bilateral hilar, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy were rare.