Journal of Critical and Intensive Care Online Early
Relationship Between Clinical and Computed Tomography Scan Severity of the Pulmonary Infection in COVID-19 Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit: Particular Reference to the National Covid-19 Hospital at Lomé, Togo
Sarakawabalo ASSENOUWE 1 ,Tabana E. MOUZOU 2 ,Pihou GBANDE 3 ,Ernest AHOUNOU 4 ,Komlan Mawabah BOUASSALO 3 ,Awereou KOTOSSO 1 ,Mahirèyawa François PITASSA 1 ,Chimene Etonga ANOUDEM 5
1National Covid-19 Referral Hospital, Regional Hospital of Lomé Commune, Togo
2University of Kara, Faculty of Health Sciences, Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Kara, Togo
3University of Lomé, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lomé, Togo
4University of Abomey-Calavi, Faculty of Health Sciences, Cotonou, Benin
5University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, Ottawa, Canada
DOI : 10.37678/dcybd.2024.3477 Background: Lung injuries in COVID-19 are often associated with severity scores. This study aimed to describe the relationship between the clinical categorization of patients used in a low-resource setting and the severity of chest Computed Tomography (CT) scan features.

Methods: A retrospective, descriptive, and analytical study was conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the National COVID-19 Reference Hospital. Patients were classified into moderate and severe clinical forms, based on the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of clinical syndromes associated with COVID-19. CT scans were categorized into moderate (≤ 50%) or severe (> 50%) grades, depending on the extent of lung injuries. The chi-square test or Fisher's exact test and logistic regression were analyses performed using R software.

Results: One hundred and thirty-three patients, with a mean age of 57.9 ± 15.6 years and a sex ratio of 1.2, were included in the study. They had comorbidities in 84.2% and presented with a moderate (41.3%) and severe clinical form (58.7%). Lung lesions were of moderate (45.1%) and severe (54.9%) grade. Clinical severity was associated with the extent of lung lesions on CT scans (p<0.001). Diabetes (p=0.01), low blood pressure (p=0.04), SpO2 <85% (p=0.04), and respiratory distress (p=0.02) were associated with severe clinical forms. Obesity (p=0.01), SpO2 <85% (p=0.04), and respiratory distress (p=0.02) were associated with severe CT scan.

Conclusions: The clinical severity of COVID-19 patients was associated with pulmonary CT scan severity. This clinical categorization could be useful in low-resource settings to guide the management of patients with COVID-19. Keywords : COVID-19, chest Computed Tomography scan, clinical categorization, respiratory distress, intensive care