Objectives: To investigate clinical features and the chest computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Shanghai.
Materials and Methods: Two hundred seven patients (102 men and 105 women, 15-84 years old) with COVID-19 from 23 January 2020 to 8 February 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. The imaging findings, clinical and laboratory data of the patients were evaluated and analyzed. The CT score was determined by totaling the lobes of lungs affected ranging from 0-25.
Results: The median time from onset of symptoms to first hospital admission was 5.3±3.9 days.After being tested positive, the hospital stay of patients with onset of symptoms within one week is longer than that of patients with onset of symptoms over one week (15.7 vs. 11.5 respectively, p<0.01). The initial lung findings of patients with COVID-19 on chest CT were small subpleural ground glass opacities (GGO) that grew larger with crazy-paving pattern and consolidation with or without interstitial opacity. The mean CT scores peaked at 8-10 days of illness, with a slow decline thereafter and substantial scores after the 10 days. Both age and CD4+ cell counts had a remarkable prognostic effect on imaging outcomes (p<0.05).
Conclusion: For patients in mild-to-moderatecondition, the disease began to improve after 10 days from the initiation of the symptoms. Both age and baseline CD4+ cell count were pivotal predictor of the outcome of imaging of the patients with COVID-19.