Chest CT Scan Findings and Severity of Disease in Patients with COVID-19 Admitted to Qaemshahr Razi Hospital, 2020-2021

Background and purpose: Timely diagnosis of patients with suspected COVID-19 using chest Computed tomography (CT) scan is of great benefit in reducing the severity of the disease. Previous studies did not address this issue, so, this study aimed to investigate the findings of chest CT scan images and the severity of lung involvement in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective descriptive-analytical study in all patients admitted to Qaemshahr Razi Hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 and positive RT-PCR test results in 2019-2020. All chest scans were reviewed and reported by a radiologist. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and t-test. Results: The patients (n= 666) included 51.36% women and 48.64% men. The mean age of patients was 54.06±16.55 years. Moderate lung involvement was more common and ground-glass opacity (GGO) was the highest encountered pattern (39.33%). Also, in severe lung involvement, GGO pattern was found to be more prevalent (22.37%). Minimal lung involvement (0-25%), moderate lung involvement (25-50%), and sever lung involvement (> 75%) were seen in 6.75%, 22.29%, and 20.27%, respectively. Most of the patients were highly suggestive of COVID-19 and moderate lung involvement (45.97%) was found to be higher in this condition. No significant difference was seen between the extent of lung involvement in patients studied (P= 0.535). Conclusion: The CT scan results in our patients in Mazandaran province with COVID-19 showed primarily GGO followed by consolidation and crazy paving patterns.