Tomographic behavior of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Background: From the first report of the respiratory disease caused by SARS-Cov-2 towards the end of 2019, in Wuhan, China, to June 8, 2020, 6,931,000 people had been affected in the world, and 113,619 in Mexico, where there is a lack of literature describing the tomographic behavior of this disease throughout its evolution and its correlation with patient clinical data.

Objective: To identify, describe and classify the manifestations detected on chest computed tomography images of patients with pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Method: Hospitalized patients with RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and who underwent a plain chest tomography were included.

Results: The most common tomographic patterns were ground glass opacity, consolidation, cobblestone pattern and mixed pattern, with peripheral and subpleural distribution and bilateral involvement in up to 95 %. Subpleural bands that distorted the architecture were identified in up to 62 % of patients, with an average of seven days of evolution. The most common extrapulmonary finding was an increase in pulmonary artery transverse axis.

Conclusion: Knowing the behavior of this type of pneumonia allows becoming familiarized with the characteristic tomographic patterns, in order to aid timely detection and treatment.