Covid-19 Infected Lungs

All over the the world, Chest CT scans are used to determine the severity of the COVID-19 disease and to study the visual damage that the virus may cause to the lungs. Explore Chest CT scans of a 73-year-old Brazilian patient that was CT scanned in October 2019 as a follow up of a lung surgery 2 years ago. Half a year later, the patient was CT scanned again when hospitalized and diagnosed with a severe COVID-19 infection. This time, the CT scans show visible damages on the lungs as a result of a continuously spreading infection and inflammation.

The severity of COVID-19 differs a lot from person to person. Thanks to our amazing immune system, over 80% of the people who get the disease only experience mild and harmless symptoms like fever, tiredness, dry cough, headaches and loss of smell and taste. These symptoms are due to the virus infecting cells in the upper airways. The disease is most dangerous to older people with compromised immune systems, chronic diseases or heart and lung problems. In severe cases, people are experiencing shortness of breath and pain when taking deep breaths combined with high fever. This can be a serious sign that the lungs are unable to oxygenate the blood sufficiently due to a severe inflammation, especially in the lower respiratory tract.