Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology (대한영상의학회지)

The Korean Society of Radiology (대한영상의학회)
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Chest CT Findings of COVID-19 Patients with Mild Clinical Symptoms at a Single Hospital in Korea

경증의 임상 소견을 보이는 COVID-19 환자들의 흉부 CT 소견

  • Woon Young Baek (Department of Radiology, Seoul Medical Center) ;
  • Young Kyung Lee (Department of Radiology, Seoul Medical Center) ;
  • Suhyun Kim (Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Medical Center) ;
  • Chorom Hahm (Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Medical Center) ;
  • Mi Young Ahn (Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Medical Center) ;
  • Dong Hyun Oh (Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Medical Center) ;
  • Jae-Phil Choi (Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Medical Center)
  • 백운영 (서울의료원 영상의학과) ;
  • 이영경 (서울의료원 영상의학과) ;
  • 김수현 (서울의료원 내과) ;
  • 함초롬 (서울의료원 내과) ;
  • 안미영 (서울의료원 내과) ;
  • 오동현 (서울의료원 내과) ;
  • 최재필 (서울의료원 내과)
  • Received : 2020.05.15
  • Accepted : 2020.07.23
  • Published : 2021.01.01
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Abstract

Purpose To retrospectively evaluate the chest computed tomography (CT) findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with mild clinical symptoms at a single hospital in South Korea. Materials and Methods CT scans of 87 COVID-19 patients [43 men and 44 women; median age: 41 years (interquartile range: 26.1-51.0 years)] with mild clinical symptoms (fever < 38℃ and no dyspnea) were evaluated. Results CT findings were normal in 39 (44.8%) and abnormal in 48 (55.2%) patients. Among the 48 patients with lung opacities, 17 (35.4%) had unilateral disease and 31 (64.6%) had bilateral disease. One (2.1%) patient showed subpleural distribution, 9 (18.8%) showed peribronchovascular distribution, and 38 (79.2%) showed subpleural and peribronchovascular distributions. Twenty-two (45.8%) patients had pure ground-glass opacities (GGOs) with no consolidation, 17 (35.4%) had mixed opacities dominated by GGOs, and 9 (18.8%) had mixed opacities dominated by consolidation. No patients demonstrated consolidation without GGOs. Conclusion The most common CT finding of COVID-19 in patients with mild clinical symptoms was bilateral multiple GGO-dominant lesions with subpleural and peribronchovascular distribution and lower lung predilection. The initial chest CT of almost half of COVID-19 patients with mild clinical symptoms showed no lung parenchymal lesions. Compared to relatively severe cases, mild cases were more likely to manifest as unilateral disease with pure GGOs or GGO-dominant mixed opacities and less likely to show air bronchogram.

목적 경증의 임상 소견을 보이는 coronavirus disease 2019 (이하 COVID-19) 환자들의 흉부 CT 소견에 대하여 후향적으로 평가하고자 한다. 대상과 방법 경증의 임상 소견(발열 < 38℃, 호흡 곤란 없음)을 보이는 87명의 COVID-19 환자의 흉부 CT 소견을 평가하였다. 결과 39명(44.8%)의 환자는 정상 CT 소견을 보였으며, 48명(55.2%)은 비정상 CT 소견을 보였다. 폐 실질 병변이 있는 48명의 환자 중 17명(35.4%)이 일측성 분포 보였으며, 31명(64.6%)이 양측성 분포를 보였다. 1명(2.1%)의 환자는 흉막하 분포를 보였고, 9명(18.8%)은 기관지 혈관 주위 분포를 보였으며, 38명(79.2%)은 흉막하 및 기관지 혈관 주위 분포를 보였다. 22명(45.8%)의 환자는 경화 없는 순수 간유리 음영 병변을 보였고, 17명(35.4%)은 간유리 음영이 우세한 혼합 밀도의 병변을 보였고, 9명(18.8%)은 경화가 우세한 혼합 밀도의 병변을 보였다. 간유리 음영 없는 경화 병변을 보인 환자는 없었다. 결론 경증의 임상 소견을 보이는 COVID-19 환자의 가장 흔한 CT 소견은 흉막 하 및 기관지 혈관 주위 분포를 보이는 양측성 다발성 간유리 음영 우세 병변이었다. 경증의 임상 소견을 보이는 COVID-19 환자의 거의 절반의 초기 흉부 CT상 폐 실질 병변을 보이지 않았다. 경증의 COVID-19는 상대적으로 중증의 COVID-19과 비교하여 일측성 병변의 비율이 높고, 순수 간유리 음영이나 간유리 음영 우세 병변의 비율이 높으며, 공기기관지 음영의 비율은 낮다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.co.kr) for English language editing.

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