COMMON COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY FINDINGS AND ASSOCIATION OF THEIR EXTENT TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF 47 COVID-19 PATIENTS IN NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

Introduction and Purpose: There was an unprecedentedly rapid and worldwide spread of the coronavirus after the acknowledgement of several cases of unusual pneumonia that were defined as coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. As of March 12th, 2021, there are more than 119 million confirmed cases, 2.63 million deaths due to the disease, and 67.1 million recovered. In the Republic of North Macedonia as of March 11th, 2021, we have 110.209 confirmed cases, 3.265 deaths and 96.570 recovered. The purpose of this study was to perform a thorough evaluation of the CTs in COVID-19 patients with the focus on the type, extent and common distribution of the parenchymal findings, as well as to make an assessment of the relationship between the extent of the parenchymal findings and different demographic features of the patients by using a visual volumetric grading of the parenchymal involvement and administering an appropriate CT score. Material and Methods: CT radiological findings of 47 patients from North Macedonia, enrolled in the study, were analyzed and summarized, and all of whom had positive RT – PCR tests for 2019 – nCoV. The CTs in all patients were performed with 1.25 mm and 5 mm slice thickness on 16-slice Somatom Definition AS+ computed tomography (Siemens Healthineers, USA). The main focus was put on identifying the lesions, evaluating their most common type, distribution and scoring their extent in the lung parenchyma. While applying an appropriate CT score, we made a correlation with the demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and body weight. Results and Discussion: The most common CT finding in almost all 47 patients was the ground glass opacities (GGO) diffusely scattered in both lungs with a dominant peripheral and posterior distribution. We found that age and weight are significant risk factors for predicting the severity and outcome of COVID-19 disease. Conclusion: Chest CT is an important diagnostic and predictive tool in patients with COVID-19. There should be a consensus in the definite diagnosis of COVID-19 based on clinical findings, positive nCov PCR tests and radiological findings. Demographic features can aid in the prediction of severity and outcome of the disease.