Background: Decisions about asymptomatic COVID-19 patients are always critical, either during initial screening or during recovery Spread of infection will be inevitable if those patients were left non-isolated This study aimed not only to survey spectrum of HRCT findings of COVID-19 among asymptomatic and recovered patients but also to record unexpected results and document their impact upon the clinical decision Results: The study was retrospectively conducted, during June and July 2020, on 120 patients proved with COVID-19, during initial HRCT screening or delayed following announcement of recovery All patients were completely asymptomatic They included 72 males and 48 females (60%:40%) Their age ranged from 10 to 58 years (mean 35 95 ± 12 25 SD) HRCT was analyzed by three expert consultant radiologists in consensus Among asymptomatic initially screened COVID-19 patients, additional to GGOs, bilateral consolidative changes were unexpectedly found together with secondary fibrosis (23 3% and 10%) HRCT results significantly impacted the clinical decision (P 3 cm) were found (70%) Near 50% of lung volume was persistently affected (10%) Secondary fibrosis was striking (33%) Encysted hydro-pneumothorax persisted for a whole month (1 7%) “No-isolation” decision remained unchanged because of clinical and laboratory stability;however, steroids were prescribed to speed lung recovery Conclusion: HRCT findings among asymptomatic and recovered COVID-19 patients can be unexpected and can definitely impact the clinical decision © 2020, The Author(s)
Spectrum of HRCT findings among asymptomatic and recovered COVID-19 patients: how did they impact the clinical decision?