The multispiral computed tomography in the early diagnosis of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

The high informative value of chest computed tomography in the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 is generally recognized, but there is no enough data on the diagnostic capabilities of this method within 5 first days of the clinical manifestations of the disease. The paper presents the results of chest multispiral (multislice) computed tomography (MSCT) of 56 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in the early days of the disease. The aim of the study was to analyze the semiotics of pathological changes in the lungs in the first days of the onset of clinical symptoms of COVID-19 and to clarify the methodology for conducting MSCT. Methods. The data of chest MSCT of 56 patients with clinical symptoms of a new coronavirus infection SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. MSCT was carried out in the first 4 – 5 days of the disease. Results. Five variants for the development of the disease were revealed, including atypical, characterized by the prevalence and CT semiotics of lung damage and apparently due to the different response of the patients to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The leading signs of COVID-19 pneumonia in the early stages of the disease were foci of ground glass opacification (GGO), multifocal lesions of the lungs, edema of the interalveolar pulmonary interstitium, which distinguishes it from pneumonia of another etiology. Conclusion. Comparison of MSCT data and the clinical picture of the disease during the first 5 days suggests with high confidence the pneumonia associated with COVID-19. A prerequisite for conducting MSCT in case of suspicion of this type of pneumonia is the implementation of thin 0.5 – 1.5 mm sections, MSCT performance at suspended full inspiration, post-processing of unenhanced tomogram data in MinIP mode.