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

Relação entre o padrão tomográfico e o status vacinal de indivíduos com COVID-19

Abstract

Objective:  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.

Materials and Methods:  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.

Results:  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).

Conclusion:  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.

Keywords:
Tomography; X-ray computed; Thorax; COVID-19; Vaccines