Plain chest radiographic findings among COVID-19 patients in sub-saharan Africa

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a pandemic that is ravaging the world. Chest imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of patients with COVID-19-related chest infections. This study determined the pattern of chest radiographic features among confirmed COVID-19 patients in Abuja, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Chest radiographs (CXR) of COVID-19 patients were reviewed, and the radiological features of the lesions were recorded based on the type of opacities, pattern of distribution in the lung fields, side of lesions, and severity of pulmonary abnormalities. Results: The radiographs of 77 patients were analyzed. Their age range was 15–88 years with a mean of 47.4 years and peak age group of 51–60 years. Gender distribution of the patients was 58 (75.3%) males and 19 (24.7%) females giving a male-to-female ratio of 3.1: 1. Fifty-five (71.4%) of the patients had normal CXRs, whereas 22 (28.6%) patients had abnormal pulmonary appearances. Seven (58.3%) out of 12 patients with mild interstitial pneumonia had unilateral disease, whereas 5 (41.7%) had bilateral disease. Combined total of ten patients with moderate and severe interstitial pneumonia all had bilateral disease. Conclusion: Plain CXR gives reliable diagnosis about the presence and degree of interstitial pneumonia in COVID-19 patients. CXR should be routinely done as a baseline diagnostic tool in patients positive for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test. The findings in the CXRs of COVID-19 patients in sub-Saharan Africa are similar to those reported from the other parts of the world.