• Amit Shrestha, Subodh Shrestha, Abhushan Siddhi Tuladhar, Rumita Kayastha, Roja Khanal, Ashlesha Chaudhary, Anish Bhattarai, and Sneha Bimali.
• Department of Radiology, Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Jorpati, Kathmandu, Nepal.
• JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc. 2023 May 1; 61 (261): 455459455-459.

IntroductionCOVID-19 is a highly contagious viral disease which escalated into a global pandemic since its outbreak on 31 December 2019. Chest X-rays are the most common investigation in suspected cases to diagnose and manage pneumonia. The aim of this study was to find out the mean Brixia severity scores among symptomatic COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care centre.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the chest X-rays of symptomatic COVID-19-positive patients of a tertiary care centre. Data from 1 May 2021 to 31 July 2021 were collected between 1 August 2022 and 1 January 2023 from the hospital records. Ethical approval was taken from Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 01-079/080). Patients with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with symptoms of COVID-19 were included in this study. Convenience sampling method was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.ResultsAmong the total of 300 patients, the mean Brixia severity score was 7.15±5.07 and out of 235 patients with abnormal chest X-ray, the mean Brixia severity score was 9.13±3.84. A total of 68 (22.66%) patients had mild, 115 (38.33%) had moderate and 52 (17.33%) had severe scores.ConclusionsThe mean Brixia severity score among symptomatic COVID-19 patients was found to be higher than the other studies done in similar settings.KeywordsCOVID-19; Nepal; pneumonia; prevalence; x-ray.

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