Table 2.
Computed tomography (CT) results in patients with COVID-19, according to disease severity
| Characteristics | Disease severity | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asymptomatic/mild (n = 63, 13.0%) | Moderate (n = 378, 78.1%) | Severe/critically ill (n = 43, 8.9%) | p value | |
| Number of chest CT examinations | 122/954 (12.8%) | 747/954 (78.3%) | 85/954 (8.9%) | - |
| Number of CT examinations without pulmonary opacity | 18/122 (14.8%) | 15/747 (2.0%) | 0/85 (0%) | < 0.001 |
| Number of CT examinations with slice thickness ≤ 3 mm | 114/122 (93.4%) | 654/747 (87.6%) | 72/85 (84.7%) | 0.108 |
| Volume (mL) | ||||
| Whole lung | 4637.4 (3687.7, 5724.5) | 4429.7 (3575.9, 5338.5) | 3548.7 (2538.3, 4393.6) | < 0.001 |
| Aerated lung | 4636.0 (3585.6, 5647.4) | 4216.6 (3307.1, 5094.7) | 2557.0 (1921.0, 3921.7) | < 0.001 |
| Pulmonary opacities | 1.7 (0.1, 44.9) | 129.8 (34.0, 302.5) | 491.4 (199.0, 1041.0) | < 0.001 |
| Ground-glass opacities | 0.1 (0, 5.7) | 9.1 (1.2, 32.5) | 14.8 (0.9, 66.4) | < 0.001 |
| Consolidation | 0.4 (0, 20.3) | 97.5 (16.8, 238.8) | 437.3 (134.2, 977.8) | < 0.001 |
| Opacities in the upper lobes | 0 (0, 1.8) | 22 (0.7, 98.7) | 227.7 (46.6, 496.2) | < 0.001 |
| Opacities in the lower lobes | 0 (0, 28.7) | 76.2 (13.8, 190.1) | 288.3 (102.4, 554.6) | < 0.001 |
| Density (X-ray attenuation, Hu) | ||||
| Whole lung | − 847 (− 864, − 821) | − 826 (− 856, − 786) | − 750 (− 802, − 684) | < 0.001 |
| Pulmonary opacities | − 602.5 (− 713, − 484) | − 634 (− 711, − 540) | − 576 (− 666, − 523) | 0.003 |
| Opacities in the upper lobes | − 656 (− 736, − 566) | − 676 (− 744, − 577) | − 634 (− 696, − 560) | 0.009 |
| Opacities in the lower lobes | − 586 (− 689, − 479) | − 624 (− 708, − 518) | − 534 (− 645, − 443) | < 0.001 |
| Frequencies of opacity by location (%) | ||||
| Right posteroinferior subpleural area | 4.7 (2.4, 7.1) | 20.5 (18.6, 22.6) | 45.3 (43.0, 48.8) | < 0.001 |
| Right posterosuperior subpleural area | 1.6 (0.8, 1.6) | 10.8 (8.5, 12.6) | 32.6 (29.1, 34.9) | < 0.001 |
| Right anterior subpleural area | 1.6 (1.6, 3.1) | 5.3 (4.4, 6.6) | 24.4 (20.9, 26.7) | < 0.001 |
| Right medial subpleural area | 1.6 (1.6, 1.6) | 4.1 (3.5, 5.2) | 22.1 (19.8, 26.7) | < 0.001 |
| Right central area | 1.6 (0.8, 1.6) | 4.9 (4.5, 5.5) | 26.7 (23.3, 27.9) | < 0.001 |
| Lung lobes involved | 3 (1, 4) | 5 (3, 5) | 5 (5, 5) | < 0.001 |
Variables are described as number (percentage) or median and interquartile range. Upper lobes include left upper lobe, right upper lobe, and right middle lobe; Lower lobes include left lower lobe and right lower lobe