Peculiarities of radiological and laboratory values in patients with community-acquired pneumonia during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Literature and personal data on community-acquired pneumonia during the epidemic of a new coronavirus infection COVID-19 are presented. It was found that men and patients with moderately to severe form were treated for community-acquired pneumonia more often. The most common localizations were as follows (in descending frequency): bilateral multisegmental, right-sided lower lobe, left-sided lower lobe. Men as compared to women more often had the following localization of pneumonia: right-sided lower lobe pneumonia at the age of 20–30, 51–60; right-sided multisegmental in all age groups; left-sided lower lobe pneumonia at the age of 51–60, left-sided upper lobe pneumonia at the age of 20–50; left-sided multisegmental pneumonia in all age groups; slightly more frequent bilateral lower lobe pneumonia in different age groups; bilateral multisegmental pneumonia at the age of 20–30 and over 60. Conversely, the most common localization in women was as follows: right-sided lower lobe pneumonia at the age 31–50, right-sided upper lobe pneumonia at the age 20–30, left-sided lower lobe pneumonia at the age 20–50 and over 60, left-sided upper lobe pneumonia at the age over 60, bilateral lower lobe pneumonia at the age 31–40, bilateral multisegmental pneumonia at the age 41–60. Right-sided lower lobe pneumonia was equally often registered irrespective of gender in persons older than 60 years old. Right-sided upper lobe pneumonia was not registered in patients aged 31–40 and 41–50 years, and over 60 years old. The most frequent localization of pneumonia in mild form was left-sided lower lobe (35.3 %), right-si­ded lower lobe (20.6 %), and bilateral lower lobe (14.7 %). The least frequent were upper lobe localization of pneumonia in the right, left, and both lungs (2.94 % each), and left multisegmental pneumonia was not observed at all. The most frequent localization of pneumonia in the moderate form was the lower lobes of the right lung (29.4 %), left lung (18.3 %), and multisegmental in both lungs (28.8 %). It was least frequently registered in the upper lobe of the right lung (2.6 %), left lung (3.9 %) but was not registered in the upper lobes of both lungs. The most frequent localization of pneumonia in severe form was bilateral multisegmental (37.5 %). Right-sided multisegmental, left-sided lower lung and bilateral lower lung were the least common — 12.5 % for each. Subfebrile fever was registered more frequently in almost all localizations. More often normal or subfebrile temperature was registered in all localizations, except for right-sided upper lobe pneumonia, in which higher (febrile, pyretic) temperature was registered more often. In all localizations within three days after hospitalization most patients had normal leukocyte count, leukopenia was slightly more frequent in left-sided lower lobe pneumonia, leukocytosis — in the bilateral upper lobe, bilateral lower lobe, and right-sided upper lobe. In general, leukocytosis in community-acquired pneumonia was registered in 38.8 % of patients. In the first three days after hospitalization, a normal amount of lymphocytes was registered in the majority of patients, lymphopenia was observed in one-third of patients with right-sided upper and left-sided lower lobe localization.