Radiological, epidemiological and clinical patterns of pulmonary viral infections

Highlights • The clinical evaluation of a suspected pulmonary infection faces a diagnostic challenge due to the variety of possible viral organisms. • Certain radiographic and computed tomographic patterns may suggest a particular viral pathogen as the cause of the infection. • In most of the cases a definite diagnosis cannot be achieved on the basis of imaging features alone. • Interpretation of the radiological findings should always be made with awareness of epidemiology and clinical presentation.
Respiratory viruses are the most common causes of acute respiratory infections. However, identification of the underlying viral pathogen may not always be easy. Clinical presentations of respiratory viral infections usually overlap and may mimic those of diseases caused by bacteria. However, certain imaging morphologic patterns may suggest a particular viral pathogen as the cause of the infection. Although definitive diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of clinical or imaging features alone, the use of a combination of clinical and radiographic findings can substantially improve the accuracy of diagnosis. The purpose of this review is to present the clinical, epidemiological and radiological patterns of lower respiratory tract viral pathogens providing a comprehensive approach for their diagnosis and identification in hospitals and community outbreaks.