Differential Diagnostics of Interstitial Pneumonia During COVID-10 Pandemic – Case Reports

Tijekom pandemije SARS-CoV-2, liječnici su u svakodnevnom kontaktu s bolesnicima koji imaju sličan klinički tijek bolesti, slične laboratorijske i radiološke nalaze, no, u konačnici, različitu etiologiju bolesti. U ovom radu prikazujemo trojicu bolesnika koji su se javili u hitnu službu Klinike za infektivne bolesti “Dr. Fran Mihaljević” u Zagrebu zbog sumnje na akutnu COVID-19 infekciju. Bolesnici su bili muškarci, srednje životne dobi koji su se prezentirali sličnom kliničkom slikom, ali je, nakon učinjene dijagnostičke obrade, utvrđena različita etiologija bolesti. Radilo se o virusnoj, gljivičnoj i bakterijskoj pneumoniji. Cilj je ovog prikaza ukazati na važnost detaljnog uzimanja anamneze, fizikalnog pregleda te dijagnostičke obrade s ciljem razmatranja diferencijalne dijagnoze intersticijske pneumonije kako bi se pravovremeno započelo s adekvatnim liječenjem.SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has placed a heavy burden on the healthcare system. The clinicians were confronted with an increasing number of patients having similar symptoms, laboratory and radiological findings, but ultimately different disease etiology. In our paper, we present three patients admitted to the Emergency Department at the University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljević” in Zagreb with suspicion of acute COVID-19 infection. All patients were middle-aged males with similar clinical presentation, but, different disease etiology was established after diagnostic workup, that included viral, fungal and bacterial pneumonia. The aim of this report is to clearly point out the importance of detailed patient history, thorough physical examination and diagnostic workup for differentiating other possible causes of interstitial pneumonia, in order to timely initiate adequate treatment