Quantitative-analysis of computed tomography in COVID-19 and non COVID-19 ARDS patients: A case-control study

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to assess whether the computed tomography (CT) features of COVID-19 (COVID+) ARDS differ from those of non-COVID-19 (COVID−) ARDS patients. Materials and methods The study is a single-center prospective observational study performed on adults with ARDS onset ≤72 h and a PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 200 mmHg. CT scans were acquired at PEEP set using a PEEP-FiO2 table with VT adjusted to 6 ml/kg predicted body weight. Results 22 patients were included, of whom 13 presented with COVID-19 ARDS. Lung weight was significantly higher in COVID− patients, but all COVID+ patients presented supranormal lung weight values. Noninflated lung tissue was significantly higher in COVID− patients (36 ± 14% vs. 26 ± 15% of total lung weight at end-expiration, p