ABSTRACT
Outcomes vary widely in patients with COVID-19. Whereas some patients have only mild symptoms of short duration, others develop severe disease that leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring prolonged stays in intensive care units. Radiologically, the initial stage is characterized by viral pneumonia with mild expression. In some patients, however, the onset of the immune response results in acute lung damage with organizing pneumonia and diffuse alveolar damage. Moderate-severe disease is associated with a high incidence of pulmonary embolisms, generally peripherally distributed and associated with endothelial damage, prolonged stays in bed, and coagulopathy. Other relatively common complications are spontaneous pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum due to the rupture of alveolar walls and barotrauma in mechanically ventilated patients. Superinfection, generally bacterial and less commonly fungal, is more common in patients with severe disease.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/diagnostic imaging , Pneumonia, Viral/complications , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Acute abdominal pain constitutes a diagnostic challenge for the physician. The list of diseases that can cause abdominal pain is very extensive. Some of these conditions may be serious and life-threatening. The medical history is fundamental for the judicious choice of the most suitable diagnostic tests. Plain abdominal x-ray has little diagnostic efficiency although it comprises the initial diagnostic test when perforation of a hollow viscus, intestinal obstruction or ingestion of a foreign body is suspected. Abdominal ultrasound is the test of choice in suspected biliary tract pathology, complicated renal colic and gynaecological disease. Abdominal computed axial tomography (CT) may be the most sensitive and specific imaging test for diagnosing most causes of abdominal pain but should be reserved for selected cases.
