Early clinical and CT features of COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia from a fever observation ward in Ningbo, China.

Guoqing Qian; Yuanwei Lin; Xueqin Chen; Ada Hoi Yan MA; Xuehui Zhang; Guoxiang LI; Xinzhong Ruan; Liemin Ruan

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Early clinical and CT features of COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia from a fever observation ward in Ningbo, China.

Author: Guoqing QIAN ¹ ; Yuanwei LIN ² ; Xueqin CHEN ³ ; Ada Hoi Yan MA ⁴ ; Xuehui ZHANG ¹ ; Guoxiang LI ¹ ; Xinzhong RUAN ⁵ ; Liemin RUAN ⁶
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1. Department of General Internal Medicine, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
2. Department of Radiology, Ningbo Hospital of Zhejiang University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
3. Department of Chinese Traditional Medicine, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
4. Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham Ningbo, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
5. Department of Radiology, Ningbo Hospital of Zhejiang University, China.
6. Department of Mental Health, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; clinical features; high-resolution CT; pneumonia
MeSH: COVID-19/diagnostic imaging*; China; Community-Acquired Infections/diagnostic imaging*; Diarrhea/pathology*; Fever; Humans; Lung/diagnostic imaging*; Retrospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods*
From:Singapore medical journal 2022;63(4):219-224
CountrySingapore
Language:English
Abstract: INTRODUCTION:We aimed to compare the early clinical manifestations, laboratory results and chest computed tomography (CT) images of COVID-19 patients with those of other community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients to differentiate CAP from COVID-19 before reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results are obtained.
METHODS:The clinical and laboratory data and chest CT images of 51 patients were assessed in a fever observation ward for evidence of COVID-19 between January and February 2020.
RESULTS:24 patients had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, whereas 27 individuals had negative results. No statistical difference in clinical features was found between COVID-19 and CAP patients, except for diarrhoea. There was a significant difference in lymphocyte and eosinophil counts between COVID-19 and CAP patients. In total, 22 (91.67%) COVID-19 patients had bilateral involvement and multiple lesions according to their lung CT images; the left lower lobe (87.50%) and right lower lobe (95.83%) were affected most often, and all lesions were located in the peripheral zones of the lung. The most common CT feature of COVID-19 was ground-glass opacity, found in 95.83% of patients, compared to 66.67% of CAP patients.
CONCLUSION:Diarrhoea, lymphocyte counts, eosinophil counts and CT findings (e.g. ground-glass opacity) could help to distinguish COVID-19 from CAP at an early stage of infection, based on findings from our fever observation ward.