Table 3. Diagnostic investigations.
| Median [IQR] or N (%) | |
| Chest-X-Ray | 83 (100%) |
| Interstitial infiltration | 83 (100%) |
| Alveolar opacities | 42 (50.6%) |
| Pleural effusion | 17 (20.5%) |
| Chest CT (n = 67, 80.7%) * | |
| Ground-glass opacities | 47 (70.1%) |
| Diffuse | 43/47 (91.5%) |
| Focal | 4/47 (8.5%) |
| Fibrosis (traction bronchiectasis and/or honeycombing) | 24 (35.8%) |
| Diffuse | 11/24 (45.8%) |
| Focal | 13/24 (54.2%) |
| Air-space consolidations | 22 (32.8%) |
| Interlobular septal thickening | 20 (29.9%) |
| Cysts | 3 (4.5%) |
| Pleural effusions | 20 (29.9%) |
| Pneumothorax | 0 (0%) |
Bronchoalveolar lavage (n = 53, 63.9%)
|
|
| Cell count/µL | 480 [170.5–1080] |
| Lymphocytes >15% of total cells | 20 (38.5%) |
| Neutrophils >10% of total cells | 29 (55.8%) |
| Eosinophils >1% of total cells | 4 (7.7%) |
| Diffuse intra-alveolar haemorrhage (>20% siderophages) | 11 (21.2%) |
| Positive bacterial culture of sputa or BAL | 10 (12.5%) |
| Virus identified by PCR in BAL or nasopharyngeal aspirates | 9 (12.7%) |
| Lung biopsy | 11 (13%) |
| Positive auto-immune antibodies | 27 (32.5%) |
*In 16 instances, CT scan was not performed because of severe hypoxemia precluding transportation to the radiological department.
In 30 instances, results for BAL were not available either because BAL was not performed due to severe hypoxemia or the BAL results were deemed uninterpretable.