Coronavirus Disease 2019 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Difficult to Differentiate from Seasonal Viral Pneumonia

Abstract

The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a public health emergency. The diversity in the symptoms and imaging at the time of presentation complicates the diagnosis of COVID-19. Making a diagnosis of COVID-19 becomes challenging when there is a co-occurrence of seasonal viral illnesses due to similar clinical presentations, as well as the possibility of co-infection. Three patients presented at a medical emergency with a fever, cough, and sore throat, followed by shortness of breath. They had similar clinical features of tachycardia, tachypnea, and basal crackles, and chest X-rays showing bilateral interstitial infiltrates. Eventually, on the definitive diagnostic investigation, all three patients had different etiologies, which changed the management course and led to different outcomes. It is crucial to differentiate COVID-19 from other causes of viral pneumonia with similar clinical and radiological features, as some have a definitive treatment modality, thereby changing the disease outcome.