# Laboratory test results and computed tomography findings in health care professionals with COVID-19

## TL;DR

This study examines CT scan findings and lab results in healthcare workers with COVID-19 to understand lung involvement and disease severity.

## Contribution

The study provides insights into the CT imaging patterns and lab results specific to healthcare professionals infected with SARS-CoV-2.

## Key findings

- Ground-glass opacity was the most common CT finding in all cases.
- Moderate lung involvement was the most prevalent severity level.
- Lower lobes, especially the right posterior basal segmental bronchus, were most frequently affected.

## Abstract

To assess the intensity, characteristics, and distribution of computed
tomography (CT) findings of pulmonary involvement, as well as to evaluate
laboratory test results, in health care professionals who were exposed to
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study based on the
analysis of laboratory test results and chest CT images of health care
workers with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Data for the
period from March 2020 to December 2022 were collected from two hospitals in
Brazil.

We identified 1,091 health care professionals in whom a RT-PCR was positive
for SARS-CoV-2. However, only 38 of those individuals underwent chest CT. Of
the 38 individuals evaluated, 89.5% were treated at one of the hospitals and
57.9% were male. The mean age was 55.6 years. The most common finding (in
100% of the cases) was ground-glass opacity, followed by septal thickening
(in 31.6%) and consolidation (in 23.7%). Pulmonary involvement was
multifocal in 76.3% and predominantly subpleural in 71.0%. The extent of the
involvement was classified as mild in 24% of the cases, moderate in 47%, and
severe in 29%. The most commonly affected lung region (in 60.7% of cases)
was the lower lobes, particularly the right posterior basal segmental
bronchus (segment B10).

For evaluating lung involvement, CT was essential, aiding in postinfection
monitoring and in the early management of complications. Among the health
care professionals evaluated, moderate involvement predominated.