The Relationship Between Chest Imaging Findings and the Viral Load of COVID-19

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the relationship between clinical characteristics, radiographic features, and the viral load of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Methods and Materials: We retrospectively collected 56 COVID-19 cases from two institutions in Hunan province, China The basal clinical characteristics, detail imaging features and follow-up CT changes were evaluated and the relationship with the viral load was analyzed Results: GGO (48, 85 7%) and vascular enlargement (44, 78 6%) were the most frequent signs in COVID-19 patients Of the lesions, 64 3% of the margins were uneasily differentiated However, no significant correlations were found in terms of leucocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, and C-reactive protein (all P > 0 05) In contrast, the uneasily differentiated margin was negatively correlated with the Ct value (r = −0 283, P = 0 042), that is, an uneasily differentiated margin indicated a lower Ct value (P = 0 043) Patients with a lower Ct value were likely to present a progress follow-up change (P = 0 022) The Ct value at baseline could predict a progress follow-up change with an AUC of 0 685 (Cut-off value = 29 48) All four patients with normal CT findings presented new lesion(s) on follow-up CT scans Conclusion: The viral load of COVID-19 is negatively correlated with an uneasily differentiated lesion margin on initial CT scan images and the Ct value should noted when making a diagnosis In addition, following-up CT scans are necessary for patients who presented a normal CT at the initial diagnosis, especially for those with a low Ct value