Gastrointestinal symptoms - CT chest added
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Clinical information
- 40-year-old male
- Generally unwell with 1 week history of myalgia
- 1 day of fevers and abdominal pain
- Right iliac fossa tenderness
- Clinically suspected appendicitis
- (On direct questioning admitted to occasional coughing and minor shortness of breath on exertion)
Gastrointestinal symptoms - CT chest added
- An abdominal CT was requested (not shown - no cause of abdominal pain was demonstrated on CT)
- Even though suspicion of COVID-19 infection was low, a CT chest was added to the request for CT abdomen
- Multiple foci of patchy ground glass opacification are present in all areas of the lungs
- The chest X-ray taken earlier the same day was reviewed (see below)
- Note: Gastrointestinal symptoms (pain, vomiting, diarrhoea) are the dominant symptoms in approximately 5% of patients with COVID-19
Review of Chest X-ray
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Review of Chest X-ray
- Minor patchy shadowing is present in the right lower zone
- Other areas of the lungs appeared normal despite the changes seen on CT
- He tested swab positive later the same day
- Classification: Mild
- Note: Chest X-rays can underestimate the extent of disease, so any lung shadowing is likely to be significant in the context of clinically suspected COVID-19 lung disease