Scientific Reports (Nov 2023)

Survey on chest CT findings in COVID-19 patients in Okinawa, Japan: differences between the delta and omicron variants

  • Nanae Tsuchiya,
  • Eri Yonamine,
  • Shoko Iraha,
  • Makoto Takara,
  • Yasuji Oshiro,
  • Miyara Tetsuhiro,
  • Sadayuki Murayama,
  • Ryo Kinoshita,
  • Masaki Sato,
  • Yukiko Nishikuramori,
  • Hiroaki Takara,
  • Tamaki Akamine,
  • Hikaru Morita,
  • Takashi Matayoshi,
  • Yuma Chinen,
  • Akihiro Nishie

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47756-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Abstract To investigate the frequency of pneumonia and chest computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the fifth Delta variant-predominant and sixth Omicron variant-predominant waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Okinawa, Japan. A survey on chest CT examinations for patients with COVID-19 was conducted byhospitals with board-certified radiologists who provided treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia in Okinawa Prefecture. Data from 11 facilities were investigated. Indications for chest CT; number of COVID-19 patients undergoing chest CT; number of patients with late-onset pneumonia, tracheal intubation, and number of deaths; and COVID-19 Reporting and Data System classifications of initial chest CT scans were compared by the chi-squared test between the two pandemic waves (Delta vs. Omicron variants). A total of 1944 CT scans were performed during the fifth wave, and 1178 were performed during the sixth wave. CT implementation rates, which were the number of patients with COVID-19 undergoing CT examinations divided by the total number of COVID-19 cases in Okinawa Prefecture during the waves, were 7.1% for the fifth wave and 2.1% for the sixth wave. The rates of tracheal intubation and mortality were higher in the fifth wave. Differences between the distributions of the CO-RADS classifications were statistically significant for the fifth and sixth waves (p < 0.0001). In the fifth wave, CO-RADS 5 (typical of COVID-19) was most common (65%); in the sixth wave, CO-RADS 1 (no findings of pneumonia) was most common (50%). The finding of “typical for other infection but not COVID-19” was more frequent in the sixth than in the fifth wave (13.6% vs. 1.9%, respectively). The frequencies of pneumonia and typical CT findings were higher in the fifth Delta variant-predominant wave, and nontypical CT findings were more frequent in the sixth Omicron variant-predominant wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Okinawa, Japan.