Relationship between the computed tomography pattern and vaccination status in individuals with COVID-19

TL;DR

This study found that vaccinated individuals with COVID-19 are less likely to show the typical CT scan pattern compared to unvaccinated individuals.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that vaccination status influences the CT imaging pattern of COVID-19.

Findings

Vaccinated individuals were less likely to show the typical CT pattern of COVID-19.

The adjusted odds ratio for typical CT pattern in vaccinated individuals was 0.19.

The typical CT pattern frequency has decreased since the availability of vaccines.

Abstract

To evaluate the frequency of the typical computed tomography (CT) pattern in
individuals with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), comparing those who were
vaccinated with those who were unvaccinated.

This was a retrospective study of the medical records of patients with
clinical suspicion of COVID-19 between August 2021 and February 2022. The
vaccination status was classified as absent/incomplete (0 or 1 dose) or
complete (2 or more doses). The pattern seen on the first chest CT was
defined as typical, atypical, indeterminate, or normal, the last three
patterns being combined to form what was designated the non-typical
group.

Binary logistic regression analysis showed that individuals with a complete
vaccination status were less likely to present with the typical CT pattern
than were those with an absent/incomplete vaccination status (adjusted OR =
0.19, 95% CI: 0.06-0.60).

This information is important because it demonstrates that the frequency of
the CT pattern considered typical of COVID-19 is currently lower than it was
before the vaccines became available. Therefore, the typical CT pattern is
no longer expected.

Figures