Thin-section CT in patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome following hospital discharge: preliminary experience

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is thought to be caused by a mutated coronavirus (1). Imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with SARS. Chest radiography is one of the major diagnostic components according to the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines (2,3). Chest radiography helps in the diagnosis by depicting lung opacities and also helps in the evaluation of the progress of disease and response to treatment (4). The role of thin-section computed tomography (CT) is particularly important in early diagnosis in patients with a high clinical suspicion of disease and a negative chest radiograph (5). In view of the role of imaging in the diagnosis and management of SARS, we were interested in determining its role, if any, in the evaluation of patients after they have responded to treatment and have been discharged from the hospital. We were particularly interested in determining if thin-section CT demonstrates any residual parenchymal abnormalities or scarring in the early postdischarge period, as this may have implications for future treatment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to report our initial experience regarding the thin-section CT findings in patients with SARS who improved clinically after treatment