Lung and kidney perfusion deficits diagnosed by dual-energy computed tomography in patients with COVID-19-related systemic microangiopathy.

OBJECTIVES: There is increasing evidence that thrombotic events occur in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We evaluated lung and kidney perfusion abnormalities in patients with COVID-19 by dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) and investigated the role of perfusion abnormalities on disease severity as a sign of microvascular obstruction. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with COVID-19 who underwent pulmonary DECT angiography and were suspected of having pulmonary thromboembolism were included. Pulmonary and kidney images were reviewed. Patient characteristics and laboratory findings were compared between those with and without lung perfusion deficits (PDs). RESULTS: DECT images showed PDs in eight patients (25.8%), which were not overlapping with areas of ground-glass opacity or consolidation. Among these patients, two had pulmonary thromboembolism confirmed by CT angiography. Patients with PDs had a longer hospital stay (p = 0.14), higher intensive care unit admission rates (p = 0.02), and more severe disease (p = 0.01). In the PD group, serum ferritin, aspartate aminotransferase, fibrinogen, D-dimer, C-reactive protein, and troponin levels were significantly higher, whereas albumin level was lower (p < 0.05). D-dimer levels ≥ 0.485 µg/L predicted PD with 100% specificity and 87% sensitivity. Renal iodine maps showed heterogeneous enhancement consistent with perfusion abnormalities in 13 patients (50%) with lower sodium levels (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We found that a large proportion of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 had PDs in their lungs and kidneys, which may be suggestive of the presence of systemic microangiopathy with micro-thrombosis. These findings help in understanding the physiology of hypoxemia and may have implications in the management of patients with COVID-19, such as early indications of thromboprophylaxis or anticoagulants and optimizing oxygenation strategies. KEY POINTS: • Pulmonary perfusion abnormalities in COVID-19 patients, associated with disease severity, can be detected by pulmonary DECT. • A cutoff value of 0.485 µg/L for D-dimer plasma levels predicted lung perfusion deficits with 100% specificity and 87% sensitivity (AUROC, 0.957). • Perfusion abnormalities in the kidney are suggestive of a subclinical systemic microvascular obstruction in these patients.

AI-Based Quantitative CT Analysis of Temporal Changes According to Disease Severity in COVID-19 Pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively evaluate computed tomography (CT) parameters of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia an artificial intelligence (AI)-based software in different clinical severity groups during the disease course. METHODS: From March 11 to April 15, 2020, 51 patients (age, 18-84 years; 28 men) diagnosed and hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia with a total of 116 CT scans were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into mild (n = 12), moderate (n = 31), and severe (n = 8) groups based on clinical severity. An AI-based quantitative CT analysis, including lung volume, opacity score, opacity volume, percentage of opacity, and mean lung density, was performed in initial and follow-up CTs obtained at different time points. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to find the diagnostic ability of quantitative CT parameters for discriminating severe from nonsevere pneumonia. RESULTS: In baseline assessment, the severe group had significantly higher opacity score, opacity volume, higher percentage of opacity, and higher mean lung density than the moderate group (all P ≤ 0.001). Through consecutive time points, the severe group had a significant decrease in lung volume (P = 0.006), a significant increase in total opacity score (P = 0.003), and percentage of opacity (P = 0.007). A significant increase in total opacity score was also observed for the mild group (P = 0.011). Residual opacities were observed in all groups. The involvement of more than 4 lobes (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 65.26%), total opacity score greater than 4 (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 64.21), total opacity volume greater than 337.4 mL (sensitivity, 80.95%; specificity, 84.21%), percentage of opacity greater than 11% (sensitivity, 80.95%; specificity, 88.42%), total high opacity volume greater than 10.5 mL (sensitivity, 95.24%; specificity, 66.32%), percentage of high opacity greater than 0.8% (sensitivity, 85.71%; specificity, 80.00%) and mean lung density HU greater than -705 HU (sensitivity, 57.14%; specificity, 90.53%) were related to severe pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: An AI-based quantitative CT analysis is an objective tool in demonstrating disease severity and can also assist the clinician in follow-up by providing information about the disease course and prognosis according to different clinical severity groups.

Two in one: Overlapping CT findings of COVID-19 and underlying lung diseases.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with pneumonia and has various pulmonary manifestations on computed tomography (CT). Although COVID-19 pneumonia is usually seen as bilateral predominantly peripheral ground-glass opacities with or without consolidation, it can present with atypical radiological findings and resemble the imaging findings of other lung diseases. Diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia is much more challenging for both clinicians and radiologists in the presence of pre-existing lung disease. The imaging features of COVID-19 and underlying lung disease can overlap and obscure the findings of each other. Knowledge of the radiological findings of both diseases and possible complications, correct diagnosis, and multidisciplinary consensus play key roles in the appropriate management of diseases. In this pictorial review, the chest CT findings are presented of patients with underlying lung diseases and overlapping COVID-19 pneumonia and the various reasons for radiological lung abnormalities in these patients are discussed.

Pulmonary abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomography in ankylosing spondylitis: relationship to disease duration and pulmonary function testing.

The aim of this study was to identify the pulmonary abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to examine the relationship with the duration of disease and pulmonary function test (PFT) results. Twenty male AS patients with a mean age of 37.1 ± 9.4 years were enrolled in this study. The patients were assigned into 2 groups according to disease duration: patients with disease duration <10 years (n = 10) and ≥ 10 years (n = 10). All patients underwent clinical examination, PFT and HRCT. HRCT revealed abnormalities in 14 patients (70%). The most common findings were apical fibrosis (45%) and emphysema (25%). HRCT findings were more prominent in late AS patients (disease duration ≥ 10 years) (P = 0.015). PFT were considered as abnormal in 4 patients (20%). While 3 patients had a restrictive type pulmonary deficiency, one patient had a mild obstructive pattern. Three of these patients had concomitant HRCT abnormalities. On the other hand, 10 patients with normal PFT had abnormalities on HRCT. These findings suggest that pulmonary involvement in AS patients without respiratory symptoms could be sensitively detected by HRCT. However, the clinical significance of these radiological abnormalities should be examined in further prospective studies.

Visual and software-based quantitative chest CT assessment of COVID-19: correlation with clinical findings.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate visual and software-based quantitative assessment of parenchymal changes and normal lung parenchyma in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. The secondary aim of the study was to compare the radiologic findings with clinical and laboratory data. METHODS: Patients with COVID-19 who underwent chest computed tomography (CT) between March 11, 2020 and April 15, 2020 were retrospectively evaluated. Clinical and laboratory findings of patients with abnormal findings on chest CT and PCR-evidence of COVID-19 infection were recorded. Visual quantitative assessment score (VQAS) was performed according to the extent of lung opacities. Software-based quantitative assessment of the normal lung parenchyma percentage (SQNLP) was automatically quantified by a deep learning software. The presence of consolidation and crazy paving pattern (CPP) was also recorded. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between quantitative radiologic assessments, and clinical and laboratory findings, as well as to determine the predictive utility of radiologic findings for estimating severe pneumonia and admission to intensive care unit (ICU). RESULTS: A total of 90 patients were enrolled. Both VQAS and SQNLP were significantly correlated with multiple clinical parameters. While VQAS >8.5 (sensitivity, 84.2%; specificity, 80.3%) and SQNLP <82.45% (sensitivity, 83.1%; specificity, 84.2%) were related to severe pneumonia, VQAS >9.5 (sensitivity, 93.3%; specificity, 86.5%) and SQNLP <81.1% (sensitivity, 86.5%; specificity, 86.7%) were predictive of ICU admission. Both consolidation and CPP were more commonly seen in patients with severe pneumonia than patients with nonsevere pneumonia (P = 0.197 for consolidation; P < 0.001 for CPP). Moreover, the presence of CPP showed high specificity (97.2%) for severe pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Both SQNLP and VQAS were significantly related to the clinical findings, highlighting their clinical utility in predicting severe pneumonia, ICU admission, length of hospital stay, and management of the disease. On the other hand, presence of CPP has high specificity for severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Imaging of pulmonary thromboembolism.

Pulmonary thromboembolism usually results from deep venous thrombi originating in the lower extremities. Therefore, imaging of venous thromboembolism includes evaluation of the pulmonary arteries and the deep veins of the lower extremities. The introduction of helical CT and multidetector row CT into daily use has enabled direct visualization of pulmonary arteries. CT venography, performed 3 minutes after CT pulmonary angiography (without additional contrast administration), adds the ability to evaluate the veins of the lower extremities and pelvis. The modalities currently used in the diagnostic workup of venous thromboembolic disease and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed in this article.

Measurement of pulmonary artery to aorta ratio in computed tomography is correlated with pulmonary artery pressure in critically ill chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

AIM: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading chronic diseases and a common cause of death. Identification of COPD patients at high risk for complications and mortality is of utmost importance. Computed tomography (CT) can be used to measure the ratio of the diameter of the pulmonary artery (PA) to the diameter of the aorta (A), and PA/A ratio was shown to be correlated with PA pressure (PAP). However, the prognostic value of PA size remains unclear in patients with COPD. We hypothesized that PA enlargement, as shown by a PA/A ratio greater than 1, could be associated with a higher risk of mortality in COPD patients admitted to the intensive care unit. METHODS: Data of patients admitted to a medical intensive care unit of a university hospital were retrospectively reviewed between January 2008 and December 2012. Patients who were identified to have a diagnosis of acute exacerbation of COPD and who had an echocardiogram and CT scan were included. Pulmonary artery to aorta ratio was calculated and patients were grouped as PA/A ≤1 and PA/A >1. Comparisons were made between the groups and between patients who died and survived. Correlation analysis, survival analysis, and logistic regression analysis were done, where appropriate. RESULTS: One hundred six COPD patients were enrolled. There were 40 (37.4%) patients who had a PA/A >1. Echocardiography measured PAP was higher in the group with PA/A >1 than in those with PA/A ≤1 (62.1 ± 23.2 mm Hg vs 45.3 ± 17.9 mm Hg, P = .002). Mortality rate of patients with PA/A >1 was higher (50%) than of those patients with PA/A ≤1 (36.4%), although the difference did not reach a statistical significance (P = .17). Correlation was found between vmeasured PA diameter and PAP (r = 0.51, P = .001) as well as between the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II values and PAP (r = 0.25, P = .025). CONCLUSION: The PA/A ratio is an easily measured method that can be performed on thorax CT scans. Although, we failed to demonstrate a statistically significant association between higher PA/A and increased mortality, PA/A can be used as a surrogate marker to predict the pulmonary hypertension.