evaluating the chest ct scan in two groups of patients with influenza and covid-19

Background: this study aimed to identify differences in ct imaging features between coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) and influenza pneumonia in the early stages and determine the most valuable features for differential diagnosis.methods: this retrospective study was conducted on 57 patients with covid-19 and 57 with influenza pneumonia who were hospitalized at bu-ali hospital in zahedan, iran. ct scans were reviewed, and a significance level of p < 0.05 was used in all analyses.results: a total of 114 patients were included, consisting of 56 men (49.12%) and 58 women (50.88%), with a mean age of 53.24 ± 11.99 years. among the covid-19 patients, 27 were men (47.37%) and 30 were women (52.63%), with a mean age of 52.74 ± 12.32 years. in the influenza group, 29 were men (50.88%) and 28 were women (49.12%), with a mean age of 53.74 ± 11.75 years. in the covid-19 group, 9 patients (15.79%) had unilateral lung involvement, and 48 (84.21%) had bilateral involvement. similarly, in the influenza group, 10 patients (17.54%) exhibited unilateral lung involvement, and 47 (82.46%) showed bilateral involvement. regarding ct findings, there was no significant difference in the frequency of consolidation opacities and ground-glass opacities (ggo) between the two groups (p = 0.841). additionally, the distribution of peripheral versus central lung involvement was not significantly different (p = 0.059). conclusions: this study highlights both distinct and overlapping ct imaging features between covid-19 and influenza pneumonia. bilateral lung involvement was prevalent in both groups. however, covid-19 patients more frequently exhibited ggo, interlobular septal thickening, crazy paving patterns, and vascular dilatation. in contrast, influenza patients showed higher frequencies of consolidation, pleural effusion, cavitation, and lymphadenopathy. these findings may assist in distinguishing between the two conditions in clinical practice.