Clinico-Radiological Correlation in COVID-19 Disease: Experience of the Hassan II University Hospital of Fez

Research Article

Austin J Radiol. 2022; 9(1): 1184.

Clinico-Radiological Correlation in COVID-19 Disease: Experience of the Hassan II University Hospital of Fez

Diallo ID*, Sekkat A, Traore WM, Bouardi N, Haloua M, Lamrani MY, Boubou M, Maaroufi M and Alami B²

Department of Radiology, Hassan II University Hospital, Fez, Morocco

*Corresponding author: Diallo Ibrahima Dokal, Service of Radiology, Hospital of Specialties, Avenue Maghreb el araabi, 5 Bis at entrance B Residence, Apt 16.4eme arrondissement, Rabat, Morocco

Received: December 14, 2021; Accepted: January 13, 2022; Published: January 20, 2022

Abstract

Covid-19 disease has a great clinico-radiological polymorphism. Through this study, we illustrate the correlation between these lesions and the clinical presentation of patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 at the Hassan II University Hospital of Fez during the second wave.

Keywords: COVID-19; Correlation; CT scan; Clinical; Fez

Abbreviations

SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; 2019-nCOV2: Related to the New Coronavirus 2019; HR CT: High Resolution Computed Tomography; NSAIDs: Non Steroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs

Introduction

Covid-19 infection has been a major global public health problem since early 2020 [1].

The pandemic started for the first time in China in Wuhan following the isolation of a new virus genetically related to coronaviruses, responsible among other things for a severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS COV-2 [2]; which has caused a lot of ink to flow from researchers around the world.

The disease linked to covid-19 is characterized by a great clinical polymorphism ranging from an asymptomatic form to an acute respiratory failure. The usual presentation is essentially respiratory signs occurring in a febrile context, including dry cough, dyspnea, flu-like syndrome. Uncommon forms are possible with various symptoms: diarrhea, anosmia, agueusia, nasal congestion, conjunctivitis, skin rashes and even discoloration of the hand or foot [3].

Para-clinical examination remains the cornerstone of the diagnosis and is based on:

• Imaging, particularly thoracic CT, which mainly reveals ground glass opacities and condensation foci characterized by their peripheral distribution.

• But also biology, which allows the final diagnosis to be made thanks to PCR and serological techniques which identify the virus; in almost 80% of cases, the blood count shows lymphopenia [1].

The management of patients is essentially symptomatic; it is based on protocols defined by each country. In Morocco, the Ministry of Health has opted for a treatment combining chloroquine and azithromycin within the hospital [4]; anticoagulation and corticotherapy are an integral part of this management.

Nowadays, vaccination has become the mainstay of the fight against this disease.

The lack of data concerning the subject, the clinico-radiological diversity as well as the prevalence of the infection related to Covid-19, motivated the choice of this topic.

The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between radiological aspects and clinical presentation in patients confirmed Covid-19 positive by PCR.

Materials and Methods

This was a retrospective descriptive and analytical study, conducted at the Hassan II University Hospital in Fez, with 142 patients over a period of 2 months from July 1 to September 1.

Our study included all hospitalized patients who had a positive PCR on nasopharyngeal swab and for whom a CT scan was performed on admission. During this period, all patients with incomplete records or treated on an outpatient basis were excluded from the study. Thus, we divided our patients according to clinical presentation (symptomatic/asymptomatic), severity groups (mild to moderate and severe to critical) and the degree of radiological involvement:

Group 1 (Mild to Moderate) corresponded to patients with pneumonia without signs of severity or mild case with one or more risk factors.

Group 2 (Severe to Critical) included patients with signs of severity requiring intensive care hospitalization with respiratory support.Radiological involvement was assessed according to a score:

• Minimal when the involvement is <10% =score 1

• Moderate when it is between 10 and 25%=score 2

• Extensive for an involvement of 26 to 50%=score 3

• Severe for an involvement between 51 and 75%=score 4

• Critical for > 75%=score 5.

All patients underwent a CT-HR of the thorax, performed in the supine position using the 64-slice Bright Speed scanner (General Electric Medical System, Milwaukee, USA). The acquisitions were made using a slice thickness of 5mm and were reconstructed with a thickness of 1.25mm. Some scans were performed after injection of the contrast medium because of the worsening of the clinical condition, which raised the suspicion of a pulmonary embolism. Chest CT data were reviewed by junior radiologists and approved by senior radiologists.

The chi-square statistical test was used to investigate the relationship between these different parameters with a significance level of 5% (P-value <0.05) using SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) software.

Results

The median age in our series was 59 years with extremes ranging from 20 to 90 years. There was a male predominance (65%, n=93) (Graph 1).