Chest CT Findings in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Relationship to Duration of Infection

In this retrospective study, chest CT scans from 121 symptomatic patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from four centers in China from January 18, 2020, to February 2, 2020, were reviewed for common CT findings in relationship to the time between symptom onset and the initial CT scan (ie, early, 0-2 days [36 patients]; intermediate, 3-5 days [33 patients]; late, 6-12 days [25 patients]). The hallmarks of COVID-19 infection on images were bilateral and peripheral ground-glass and consolidative pulmonary opacities. Notably, 20 of the 36 patients (56%) imaged in the early phase had a normal CT scan. With a longer time after the onset of symptoms, CT findings were more frequent, including consolidation, bilateral and peripheral disease, greater total lung involvement, linear opacities, crazy-paving pattern, and the reverse halo sign. Bilateral lung involvement was observed in 10 of the 36 early patients (28%), 25 of the 33 intermediate patients (76%), and 22 of the 25 late patients (88%). (C) RSNA, 2020