• Sohail Ahmed Khan, Murli Manohar, Maria Khan, Samita Asad, and Syed Omair Adil.
• Sohail Ahmed Khan, Assistant Professor, Dow Institute of Radiology, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
• Pak J Med Sci. 2021 Sep 1; 37 (5): 128812941288-1294.

Background & ObjectiveRadiology has played a significant role in the diagnosis and quantifying the severity of COVID 19 pulmonary disease. This study was conducted to assess patterns and severity of COVID-19 pulmonary disease based on radiological imaging.MethodsA prospective observational study was conducted in a large tertiary care public sector teaching hospital of Karachi, Pakistan from June 2020 till August 2020. All confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients referred for chest X-rays and computed tomography (CT) scans were evaluated along with RT-PCR results. Suspected patients were followed for RT-PCR. Radiological features and severity of imaging studies were determined.ResultsOf 533 patients in whom X-rays were performed, majority had severe/critical findings, i.e., 304 (57.03%). Of 97 patients in whom CT scan was performed, mild/moderate findings were observed in 63 (64.94%) patients. Of 472 patients with abnormal X-rays, majority presented with alveolar pattern 459 (97.2%), bilateral lung involvement 453 (89.6%), and consolidation 356 (75.4%). Moreover, lobar predominance showed lower zone preponderance in 446 (94.5%) patients. Of 88 patients with abnormal CT findings, ground-glass opacity (GGO) 87 (98.9%) and crazy paving 69 (78.4%) were the most common findings. An insignificantly higher association of PCR positive cases was observed with severe/critical X-rays (p-value 0.076) and CT scan findings (p-value 0.431).ConclusionMost common patterns on CT scans were GGO and crazy paving. While on chest radiographs, bilateral lung involvement with alveolar pattern and consolidation were most common findings. On X-rays, majority had severe/critical whereas CT scan had mild/moderate findings.Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.

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