The Extent of Lung Involvement Based on CT-Scores, Compared to Clinical Symptoms and Laboratory Findings in COVID-19 Patients

Alireza Kamali; Ali Chehrei; Mohammad Hasanian; Masoomeh Sofian; Masoud Bahrami; Behzad Khansarinejad; Nader Zarinfar; Rahmatollah Moradzadeh; Hosein Sarmadian; Fatemeh Safi

doi:10.18502/acta.v61i2.12556

Alireza Kamali Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Ali Chehrei Clinical Research Development Unit of Ayatollah Khansari Hospital, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Mohammad Hasanian Department of Radiology, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Masoomeh Sofian Infectious Disease Research Center (IDRC), Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Masoud Bahrami Epidemiologist and Research Assistant, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
Behzad Khansarinejad Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Nader Zarinfar Department of Infectious Disease, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Rahmatollah Moradzadeh Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Hosein Sarmadian Department of Infectious Disease, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Fatemeh Safi Department of Radiology and Radiotherapy, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/acta.v61i2.12556

Keywords: Clinical symptoms; Computed tomography; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Lung infection

Abstract

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a public health concern with over 6.5 million cases and 390,000 deaths around the world. This research aimed to find an association between computed tomography (CT) scores and clinical and laboratory findings to estimate the extent of lung infection in patients with COVID-19. The study sample enrolled 129 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from January to February 2020. The chest CT images and clinical data were reviewed, images were segmented and scored by the degree of involvement from 0 to 4, and the relationship between them and clinical and laboratory findings were analyzed statistically. This study included 74 men and 59 women with a mean age of 55.08 years. Different abnormalities were observed; the mean CT score was 8.52 (7.83 to 9.21) and the most frequent lesions were GGO and consolidation. Our results revealed significant differences between groups categorized by dyspnea, sore throat, and low oxygen saturation concerning CT scores. There was also a significant correlation between CT scores and WBC counts and CRP levels (P<0.05). The evidence from this study implies that clinical and laboratory data, such as CRP, dyspnea, lymphopenia, and symptom onset closely correspond to chest CT scores and may be employed as initial tools to estimate the extent of lung involvement in COVID-19 patients.