Role of Chest X-Ray in Coronavirus Disease and Correlation of Radiological Features with Clinical Outcomes in Indian Patients

Recent literature has reported that radiological features of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients are influenced by computed tomography. This study aimed to assess the characteristic chest X-ray features of COVID-19 and correlate them with clinical outcomes of patients. This retrospective study included 120 COVID-19 patients. Baseline chest X-rays and serial chest X-rays were reviewed. A severity index in the form of maximum radiological assessment of lung edema (RALE) score was calculated for each lung, and scores of both the lungs were summed to obtain a final score. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) and frequency (%) were determined, and an unpaired t test, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, and logistic regression analyses were performed for statistical analyses. Among 120 COVID-19 patients, 74 (61.67%) and 46 (38.33%) were males and females, respectively; 64 patients (53.33%) had ground-glass opacities (GGO), 55 (45.83%) had consolidation, and 38 (31.67%) had reticular-nodular opacities, with lower zone distribution (50%) and peripheral distribution (41.67%). Baseline chest X-ray showed a sensitivity of 63.3% in diagnosing typical findings of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. The maximum RALE score was 2.13 ± 1.9 in hospitalized patients and 0.57 ± 0.77 in discharged patients (p value <0.0001). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between maximum RALE score and clinical outcome parameters was as follows: age, 0.721 (p value <0.00001); >10 days of hospital stay, 0.5478 (p value <0.05); ≤10 days of hospital stay, 0.5384 (p value <0.0001); discharged patients, 0.5433 (p value <0.0001); and death, 0.6182 (p value = 0.0568). The logistic regression analysis revealed that maximum RALE scores (0.0932 [0.024–0.367]), (10.730 [2.727–42.206]), (1.258 [0.990–1.598]), and (0.794 [0.625–1.009]) predicted discharge, death, >10 days of hospital stay, and ≤10 days of hospital stay, respectively. The study findings suggested that the RALE score can quantify the extent of COVID-19 and can predict the prognosis of patients.