Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected over 115 million individuals worldwide. Australia to date has had greater than 29,000 cases and over 900 deaths. Chest radiographs (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) have assisted with diagnosis and assessment of COVID-19. Previous reports have described peripheral and lower zone predominant opacities on chest radiographs and bilateral, peripheral and basal predominant ground glass opacities and consolidation on CT [1][2]. This study describes the imaging findings in an Australian tertiary hospital population.

Methods The retrospective review was approved by the ethics committee through the quality assurance pathway. Chest imaging from January 2020 to October 2020 in patients who tested COVID-PCR positive between January 2020 to August 2020 who presented to an Australian tertiary hospital was reviewed. The imaging was evaluated by a senior radiology registrar and four subspecialty chest radiologists including one dual trained radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist. Imaging performed within 5 days prior to the COVID-PCR positive test was also included to account for the...

Results A total of 681 scans (616 Chest X-Rays, 59 CTs, 6 V/Q) from 181 patients was reviewed. Of the 181 patients, there were 92 females and 89 males with a mean age of 61.99 (range 16-101). Chest Radiograph Findings 103 (17%) of radiographs performed were normal with no findings. 3 chest radiographs were considered not suitable for evaluation as they did not have the entire chest in view for evaluation. The most commonly involved zones were the left lower zone (n = 441, 72%)...

Conclusion A review of imaging in an Australian tertiary hospital demonstrates similar trends on chest x-ray and CT imaging when compared to the international population. A propensity for a number of radiographs with diffuse findings may reflect the acuity of the patients who present to the hospital.

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