Review
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World J Radiol. Aug 28, 2020; 12(8): 142-155
Published online Aug 28, 2020. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v12.i8.142
Review of radiographic findings in COVID-19
Audrey E Kaufman, Sonum Naidu, Sarayu Ramachandran, Dalia S Kaufman, Zahi A Fayad, Venkatesh Mani
Audrey E Kaufman, Sonum Naidu, Sarayu Ramachandran, Dalia S Kaufman, Zahi A Fayad, Venkatesh Mani, Department of Radiology, BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Hess Center for Science and Medicine, New York, NY 10029, United States
Author contributions: Kaufman AE, Naidu S, Fayad ZA and Mani V were responsible for study design; Kaufman AE, Naidu S, and Kaufman DS were responsible for literature review and data compilation and analysis; Ramachandran S and Naidu S prepared the figures; Kaufman AE, Naidu S, Ramachandran S, Kaufman DS, Fayad ZA and Mani V edited the manuscript; Kaufman AE and Naidu S were responsible for manuscript preparation and formatting.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Venkatesh Mani, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, P O Box 1234, New York, NY 10029, United States. venkatesh.mani@mssm.edu
Received: June 3, 2020
Peer-review started: June 3, 2020
First decision: July 4, 2020
Revised: July 6, 2020
Accepted: August 16, 2020
Article in press: August 16, 2020
Published online: August 28, 2020
Processing time: 81 Days and 19.1 Hours
Abstract

The purpose of this study is to review the published literature for the range of radiographic findings present in patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 infection. This novel corona virus is currently the cause of a worldwide pandemic. Pulmonary symptoms and signs dominate the clinical picture and radiologists are called upon to evaluate chest radiographs (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) images to assess for infiltrates and to define their extent, distribution and progression. Multiple studies attempt to characterize the disease course by looking at the timing of imaging relative to the onset of symptoms. In general, plain CXR show bilateral disease with a tendency toward the lung periphery and have an appearance most consistent with viral pneumonia. Chest CT images are most notable for showing bilateral and peripheral ground glass and consolidated opacities and are marked by an absence of concomitant pulmonary nodules, cavitation, adenopathy and pleural effusions. Published literature mentioning organ systems aside from pulmonary manifestations are relatively less common, yet present and are addressed in this review. Similarly, publications focusing on imaging modalities aside from CXR and chest CT are sparse in this evolving crisis and are likewise addressed in this review. The role of imaging is examined as it is currently being debated in the medical community, which is not at all surprising considering the highly infectious nature of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2.

Keywords: Coronavirus; COVID-19; Pneumonia; Computed tomography scan; X-Ray; Pandemics

Core tip: The world is presently confronting a global pandemic caused by a novel beta coronavirus. In hospitalized patients, coronavirus disease 2019 causes clinical lung disease with a range of severity. Plain chest radiography and chest computed tomography dominate the imaging landscape. Radiologists must be prepared to recognize the radiographic findings that often include bilateral and peripheral infiltrates on chest radiographs and bilateral and peripheral ground glass and consolidated opacities on computed tomography among other findings. The role of imaging as it relates to this disease is also covered.