Volume 93, Issue 4 p. 2056-2064
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Changes in computed tomography findings of COVID-19 pneumonia: Less extensive lung involvement with decreasing disease prevalence

Terman Gumus MD

Corresponding Author

Terman Gumus MD

Specialist in Radiology

Department of Radiology, Koc University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence Terman Gumus, MD, Department of Radiology, Koc University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Istanbul 34010, Turkey.

Email: [email protected]

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Duygu Cengiz MD

Duygu Cengiz MD

Resident in Radiology

Department of Radiology, Koc University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

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Furkan Kartal MD

Furkan Kartal MD

Specialist in Radiology

Department of Radiology, Koc University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

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Zeynep Atceken MD

Zeynep Atceken MD

Specialist in Radiology

Department of Radiology, Koc University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

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Süda Tekin MD

Süda Tekin MD

Assoc Prof

Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Koc University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

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Kayhan Cetin Atasoy MD

Kayhan Cetin Atasoy MD

Prof

Department of Radiology, Koc University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

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First published: 30 September 2020
Citations: 1

Any of the authors have any funding sources.

Abstract

It has been observed that the degree of pulmonary involvement shown in chest computed tomography (CT) scans tended to decrease as the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection decreased in the Turkish population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the disease severity based on chest CT scans and the temporal evolution of the epidemic. This study recruited 179 patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease who had received a chest CT scan between March 14 and April 28, 2020. The participants were divided into three successive temporal groups based on their date of CT examination. The early (March 14–29), mid (March 30–April 13), and late (April 14–28) groups were compared regarding the presence and extent of pulmonary involvement and CT characteristics of lesions. COVID-19 pneumonia was less extensive in participants under 45 years of age and patients presenting late in the course of epidemic (i.e., the late group) compared those presenting earlier. When each group was subcategorized on the basis of age, older patients in the late group had less extensive lung involvement than older patients in the early group. However, there was no significant difference in the extent of lung involvement in younger patients between the late and early groups. The severity of COVID-19 pneumonia appears to be variable at different temporal windows of the epidemic curve and decreases in patients presenting in the later weeks compared to the earlier weeks, particularly in older patients.

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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