CT Severity Score in COVID-19 Patients and its Association with Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension: A Retrospective Study
TC14-TC16
Correspondence
Dr. Harshit Kumar Koshta,
Flat No. 105, Achleshwar Mansion, Lalitpur Colony, Lashkar, Gwalior-474009, Madhya Pradesh, India.
E-mail: koshta06@gmail.com
Introduction: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It is thought that, people who have Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Hypertension (HTN) are more likely to get a severe COVID-19 infection. High-resolution Chest Computed Tomography (HRCT) has been shown to provide immediate results with high sensitivity and specificity for determining the severity of COVID-19 infection and lung involvement.
Aim: To determine the association between chest CT Severity Scores (CTSS) and DM and HTN in COVID-19 patients.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis at, Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. The duration of the study was one month, from July 2020 to August 2020. Based on the degree of lung involvement seen on HRCT chest scans. A total of 100 patients (68 males and 32 females) with COVID-19 infection were given a quantitative CTSS. The patients were divided into groups with mild, moderate, and severe lung involvement based on the CTSS. The Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between DM, HTN, and CTSS. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0.
Results: The mean age of study participants was 45.7±15.95 years. A total of 72 (72%) of the participants were of normal weight, 8 (8%) were overweight or obese, and 20 (20%) were underweight. COVID-19 patients with a co-diagnosis of DM (61.9%) or HTN (69.2%) had more severe lung involvement than COVID-19 patients without DM (19%) or HTN (21%). DM and HTN were found to be significantly associated with severe lung involvement (p-value <0.01).
Conclusion: Diabetic and hypertensive patients are more likely than non diabetic and non hypertensive patients to develop the severe form of COVID-19 and have a higher CT lung involvement score. DM and HTN should be considered as risk factors for the severity of COVID-19 disease.