Title:Can Chest Computed Tomography Findings of Symptomatic COVID-19
Patients Upon Admission Indicate Disease Prognosis and Clinical Outcome?
Volume: 18
Author(s): Yasemin Gunduz*, Alper Karacan, Oguz Karabay, Ali Fuat Erdem, Osman Kindir and Mehmet Halil Ozturk
Affiliation:
- Department of Radiology, Sakarya University Medical Faculty, Sakarya, Turkey
Keywords:
COVID-19, infection, chest CT, pneumonia, prognosis, mortality.
Abstract:
Aim: This study aimed to investigate whether initial chest Computed Tomography (CT)
findings of COVID-19 patients could predict clinical outcomes, prognoses, and mortality rates associated
with the infection.
Background: Published studies on chest CT in COVID-19 infection do not go beyond describing
the characteristics of the current period. Comparative analysis of chest CT findings upon hospital
admission among patients with different clinical outcomes is scarce.
Objective: We sought to retrospectively evaluate and compare clinical outcomes, prognoses, and
mortality rates based upon the initial chest CT findings of 198 consecutive symptomatic patients
with COVID-19 confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
Methods: Patients (N = 198) were divided into three groups according to their clinical outcomes as
follows: group 1 (n = 62) included patients discharged from the service, group 2 (n= 60) included
patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit, and group 3 (n = 76) included patients who died despite
treatment.
Results: Predictors of poor prognosis and mortality with regard to chest CT findings included mediastinal
lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, and pericardial effusion, and clinical characteristics of
age, dyspnea, and hypertension. The halo sign on chest CT was a good prognosis predictor in multivariate
analysis.
Conclusion: Some CT findings, such as discharge, intensive care unit hospitalization, and death as
the worst consequence, significantly correlated with endpoints. These findings support the role of
CT imaging for potentially predicting clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19.
