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Objective: To calculate by means of a computer-aided tool the volumes of healthy residual lung parenchyma, of emphysema, of ground glass opacity (GGO) and of consolidation on chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with suspected viral pneumonia by COVID-19. Materials and methods: This study included 116 patients that for suspected COVID-19 infection were subjected to the reverse transcription real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. A computer-aided tool was used to calculate on chest CT images healthy residual lung parenchyma, emphysema, GGO and consolidation volumes for both right and left lung. Expert radiologists, in consensus, assessed the CT images using a structured report and attributed a radiological severity score at the disease pulmonary involvement using a scale of five levels. Nonparametric test was performed to assess differences statistically significant among groups. Results: GGO was the most represented feature in suspected CT by COVID-19 infection; it is present in 102/109 (93.6%) patients with a volume percentage value of 19.50% and a median value of 0.64 L, while the emphysema and consolidation volumes were low (0.01 L and 0.03 L, respectively). Among quantified volume, only GGO volume had a difference statistically significant between the group of patients with suspected versus non-suspected CT for COVID-19 (p < < 0.01). There were differences statistically significant among the groups based on radiological severity score in terms of healthy residual parenchyma volume, of GGO volume and of consolidations volume (p < < 0.001). Conclusion: We demonstrated that, using a computer-aided tool, the COVID-19 pneumonia was mirrored with a percentage median value of GGO of 19.50% and that only GGO volume had a difference significant between the patients with suspected or non-suspected CT for COVID-19 infection.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Interest in transthoracic ultrasound (US) procedures increased after the availability of portable US equipment suitable for use at the patient's bedside. It is possible to detect space-occupying lesions of the pleura, pleural effusion, focal or diffuse pleural thickening and subpleural lesions of the lung, even in emergency settings. Transthoracic US is useful as a guidance system for thoracentesis and peripheral lesion biopsy, where it minimises the occurrence of pneumothorax and haemorrhage. Transthoracic US imaging is strongly influenced by physical interaction of the ultrasonic beam at the tissue/air interface, which gives rise to reverberations classified as simple (A-line), "comet tail" and "ring down"(B-line) artifacts. Although these artifacts can be suggestive of a disease condition, they are essentially imaging errors present even in normal subjects and in empty-pleura post-pneumonectomy patients. In order to clarify some confusion and to report on the state of the art, we present a review of the literature on transthoracic US in diseases of the pleura and peripheral lung regions and our own clinical experience over 3 decades. The review focuses on quality assurance procedures and their value in diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring and warns against possible inappropriate indications and misleading information. Thoracic US is much more than "fishing for the moon in the well".

The mediastinal lines visible at conventional radiography represent the interfaces between the mediastinum and adjacent lung parenchyma. Preservation, obliteration, thickening and distortion of these lines represent the key to detecting and localising mediastinal abnormalities on chest radiographs. The learning objectives of this review are to: illustrate radiographic anatomy of the mediastinum with particular attention to mediastinal lines; describe radiographic signs that allow identification of mediastinal abnormalities that are difficult to detect on conventional chest radiographs; describe findings that help localise abnormalities in the anterior, middle or posterior mediastinum. The anterior junction line obliteration, the hilum overlay sign, the preservation of the posterior mediastinal lines and the silhouette sign with the right cardiac border are radiographic signs that allow identification and localisation of anterior mediastinal lesions. Widening of the right paratracheal stripe, distortion of the azygo-oesophageal recess and the convex border of the aortopulmonary window indicate the presence of a middle mediastinal abnormality. Thickening, distortion or disruption of paraortic and paraspinal lines and posterior junction line obliteration are caused by posterior mediastinal lesions. Knowledge of normal radiographic mediastinal anatomy and mediastinal lines is crucial to identifying subtle mediastinal abnormalities that can be easily missed on conventional radiography. Moreover, this approach allows identification of the involved mediastinal compartment on chest radiographs, thereby directing the most appropriate further diagnostic workup.

Purpose The objective of this study was to demonstrate that nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) pulmonary infections are not so infrequent and that the diagnosis may be suggested on the basis of the high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) pattern alone.