key: cord-0826125-3fcsdhcj
authors: Lima, D. S.; Ribeiro, M. A. F.; Gallo, G.; Di Saverio, S.
title: Role of chest CT in patients with acute abdomen during the COVID‐19 era
date: 2020-05-09
journal: Br J Surg
DOI: 10.1002/bjs.11664
sha: ef1de8759f2f58e1ab57580bb9f3873168b01eb8
doc_id: 826125
cord_uid: 3fcsdhcj

nan

Editor Currently doctors, health professionals and medical students are facing a challenging pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). As of 1 April, Italy is the country with the highest number of deaths 1 . Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhoea, may arise before or even in the absence of respiratory symptoms 2 . The relatively high incidence of chest CT changes suggestive of COVID-19 ('ground-glass' opacity) in asymptomatic patients is worth noting. Zhou et al. 3 explanation is mainly related to the high expression of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) 2 receptors in the alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells of the lungs and also enterocytes. The typical scenario is a bilateral ground glass picture with or without pulmonary consolidation, consistent with viral pneumonia. Other less commonly observed findings were pleural thickening, pleural effusion and lymphadenomegaly. A retrospective analysis of 51 patients demonstrated that sensitivity of cCT in COVID-19 detection may be higher than that of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (98 versus 71 per cent) 4 .

In this severe acute pandemic scenario, patients who come to the emergency department with acute abdomen must also be considered for COVID-19 infection, even in the absence of respiratory symptoms. In the clinical investigation of this patient, abdominal CT is common for surgical decision-making; adding a cCT seems sensible (Fig. 1) .

D. S. Lima 1 , M. A. F. Ribeiro Jr 2 , G. Gallo 3 and S. Di Saverio 4

COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives on an unfolding crisis

Global guidance for surgical care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Effect of gastrointestinal symptoms on patients infected with COVID-19

Correlation of chest CT and RT-PCR testing in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China: a report of 1014 cases