COVID-19 Pneumonia Resembling an Acute Exacerbation of Interstitial Pneumonia.

Abstract

An 84-year-old man was admitted with hypoxemia and ground-glass opacities with traction bronchiectasis in both lungs and mild fibrosis on computed tomography. We first suspected that he had acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia and initiated methylprednisolone pulse therapy. On day 4, he was diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Although the ground-glass opacities were improved with corticosteroid treatment alone, the hypoxemia persisted, and the plasma D-dimer level increased. Anticoagulant therapy was initiated, and the hypoxemia was improved. COVID-19 pneumonia may result in radiological findings similar to those of acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia, and corticosteroids and anticoagulant therapy may lead to favorable outcomes.

• Authors: Takaaki Kitayama, Hideya Kitamura, Eri Hagiwara, Katsuyuki Higa, Hiroko Okabayashi, Tsuneyuki Oda, Tomohisa Baba, Shigeru Komatsu, Tae Iwasawa, Takashi Ogura
• Journal: Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) (Intern Med) Vol. 59 Issue 24 Pg. 3207-3211 (Dec 15 2020) ISSN: 1349-7235 [Electronic] Japan
• PMID: 33087668 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged, 80 and over
• COVID-19 (complications, epidemiology)
• Humans
• Lung (diagnostic imaging)
• Lung Diseases, Interstitial (diagnosis, etiology)
• Male
• SARS-CoV-2
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed (methods)