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Review
. 2021 May 28;13(5):122-136.
doi: 10.4329/wjr.v13.i5.122.

Highlighting COVID-19: What the imaging exams show about the disease

Lorena Sousa de Carvalho  1 , Ronaldo Teixeira da Silva Júnior  1 , Bruna Vieira Silva Oliveira  1 , Yasmin Silva de Miranda  1 , Nara Lúcia Fonseca Rebouças  1 , Matheus Sande Loureiro  1 , Samuel Luca Rocha Pinheiro  1 , Regiane Santos da Silva  1 , Paulo Victor Silva Lima Medrado Correia  1 , Maria José Souza Silva  1 , Sabrina Neves Ribeiro  1 , Filipe Antônio França da Silva  1 , Breno Bittencourt de Brito  1 , Maria Luísa Cordeiro Santos  1 , Rafael Augusto Oliveira Sodré Leal  1 , Márcio Vasconcelos Oliveira  1 , Fabrício Freire de Melo  2
Affiliations
Review

Highlighting COVID-19: What the imaging exams show about the disease

Lorena Sousa de Carvalho et al. World J Radiol. .

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a global emergency, is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The gold standard for its diagnosis is the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, but considering the high number of infected people, the low availability of this diagnostic tool in some contexts, and the limitations of the test, other tools that aid in the identification of the disease are necessary. In this scenario, imaging exams such as chest X-ray (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) have played important roles. CXR is useful for assessing disease progression because it allows the detection of extensive consolidations, besides being a fast and cheap method. On the other hand, CT is more sensitive for detecting lung changes in the early stages of the disease and is also useful for assessing disease progression. Of note, ground-glass opacities are the main COVID-19-related CT findings. Positron emission tomography combined with CT can be used to evaluate chronic and substantial damage to the lungs and other organs; however, it is an expensive test. Lung ultrasound (LUS) has been shown to be a promising technique in that context as well, being useful in the screening and monitoring of patients, disease classification, and management related to mechanical ventilation. Moreover, LUS is an inexpensive alternative available at the bedside. Finally, magnetic resonance imaging, although not usually requested, allows the detection of pulmonary, cardiovascular, and neurological abnormalities associated with COVID-19. Furthermore, it is important to consider the challenges faced in the radiology field in the adoption of control measures to prevent infection and in the follow-up of post-COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pandemic; Pneumonia; Radiology; SARS-CoV-2; Tomography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Highlights of imaging modalities in coronavirus disease 2019. CXR: Chest X-ray; CT: Computed tomography; 18F-FDG PET/CT: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT; LUS: Lung ultrasound; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; GGO: Ground-glass opacities; RT-PCR: Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of chest computed tomography scores to assess coronavirus disease 2019. CT-SS: Computed tomography severity score; COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; CO-RADS: COVID-19 Reporting and Data System; PO: Parenchymal opacification.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Safety measures to prevent infection in the radiology department. COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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