Case report: Walking pneumonia in novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Mild symptoms with marked abnormalities on chest imaging

This case report underlines the appearance of a “walking pneumonia” in a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient, with evidence of progressive lung involvement on chest imaging studies. The patient traveled from Wuhan, Hubei, China, to Thailand in January 2020. One of her family members was diagnosed with COVID-19. She presented to the hospital because of her concern, but she was without fever or any respiratory symptoms. Three days earlier, her nasopharyngeal and throat swabs revealed a negative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) test by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Her initial chest radiography was abnormal, and her first sputum SARS-CoV-2 test yielded inconclusive results. A subsequent sputum test was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Diagnosis in this patient was facilitated by chest imaging and repeat viral testing. Thus, chest imaging studies might enhance capabilities for early diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia.