Clinical characteristics of patients
A total of 210 patients were confirmed with COVID-19 and influenza. Of these patients, 5 patients did not undergo CT scans, and 35 patients who had concurrent infection with other pathogens were also excluded (see Fig. 1). Finally, 122 patients with COVID-19 and 48 patients with influenza (39 with influenza A and 9 with influenza B) were collected in the present study. The COVID-19 group included 61 (50%) men and 61 (50%) women, with ages ranging from 15 to 80 years (48 ± 15 years). The influenza group included 23 (48%) men and 25 (23%) women, with ages ranging from 15 to 86 years (47 ± 19 years). There was no statistically significant difference in age or sex (p = 0.886, 0.807, respectively). Among the COVID-19 group, a hundred and two patients (83%) had contact with individuals from Wuhan (traveled to/or lived in Wuhan, or were in contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients). The most common symptoms of COVID-19 were fever (74%) and cough (63%). The less common symptoms were headache (14%), sputum (12%), dyspnea (10%), sore throat (8%), and stuffy and runny nose (7%). Seven patients (6%) of COVID-19 were asymptomatic. The most common symptoms of patients with influenza were fever (83%) and cough (77%). The less common symptoms were stuffy and runny nose (23%), sputum (21%), dyspnea (15%), sore throat (15%), and headache (8%). Three patients of the COVID-19 group and 2 patients of the influenza group died of respiratory failure or pulmonary embolism, and the rest discharged after marked improvement. The clinical characteristics of these patients are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients included in the present study Chest CT evaluation
The median intervals between disease onset and chest CT scan were 6.2 ± 4.8 days for the COVID-19 group and 6.0 ± 3.9 days for the influenza group, respectively, which did not differ statistically (p = 0.713). The distribution of the CT lesions is listed in Table 2. Briefly, ten patients (8%) with COVID-19 were negative for CT, while up to 13 patients (27%) with influenza were CT-negative. Among the CT-positive patients, all the five lobes were affected in most of the patients in both groups. The frequency of lobe affected did not differ across the two groups. There were 50 COVID-19 patients (45%) with lesions distributed in the peripheral/subpleural regions of the lung, and the majority of the influenza patients (63%) showed mixed distribution, which differed significantly (p = 0.022).
Table 2 Distribution of the lesions in the patients with COVID-19 and influenza The radiological signs of the lesions were reviewed subsequently and are listed in Table 3. The most common CT features of the COVID-19 group were pure GGO (36%, Fig. 2a), GGO with consolidation (51%, Fig. 2b), rounded opacities (35%, Fig. 2c), linear opacities (64%), interlobular septal thickening (66%, Fig. 2d), and bronchiolar wall thickening (49%, Fig. 2e). The less common CT features included nodules (28%, Fig. 2f), crazy paving pattern (21%, Fig. 2g), air bronchogram (20%), and pure consolidation (13%). The rare CT features were tree-in-bud sign (9%), pleural effusion (6%), halo sign (3%, Fig. 2h), pericardial effusion (3%), and lymphadenopathy (3%). On the contrary, main CT features in the influenza group were GGO with consolidation (63%, Fig. 3a), nodules (71%, Fig. 3c), linear opacities (71%), interlobular septal thickening (43%), and tree-in-bud sign (40%, Fig. 3c). Pure GGO (20%), consolidation without GGO (17%, Fig. 3b), rounded GGO (17%), crazy paving pattern (17%), air bronchogram (37%), bronchiolar wall thickening (34%), and pleural effusion (31%) were less common CT findings of the patients with influenza. Compared with influenza pneumonia, COVID-19 pneumonia was more likely to have rounded opacities (35% vs. 17%, p = 0.048) and interlobular septal thickening (66% vs. 43%, p = 0.014), but less likely to have nodules (28% vs. 71%, p < 0.001), tree-in-bud sign (9% vs. 40%, p < 0.001), and pleural effusion (6% vs. 31%, p < 0.001). In addition, we found the following combinations were helpful to differentiate COVID-19 from influenza: (1) presence of pure GGO and absence of nodules (29% vs. 11%, p < 0.001); (2) presence of pure GGO and interlobular septal thickening (21% vs. 6%, p = 0.042); (3) presence of rounded opacities and absence of nodules (22% vs. 0%, p = 0.002); (4) presence of interlobular septal thickening and absence of nodules (45% vs. 6%, p < 0.001); (5) presence of rounded opacities and interlobular septal thickening and absence of pleural effusion (19% vs. 3%, p = 0.021).
Table 3 Chest CT findings in the patients with COVID-19 and influenza