Lung Ultrasound in COVID-19: Clinical Correlates and Comparison With Chest Computed Tomography

Author(s):  
Grazia Portale ◽  
Federica Ciolina ◽  
Luca Arcari ◽  
Gianluca Di Lazzaro Giraldi ◽  
Massimiliano Danti ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: lung ultrasound (LUS) and chest computed tomography (chest-CT) are largely employed to evaluate coronavirus-disease-19 (COVID-19) pneumonia. We investigated semi-quantitative LUS and CT scoring in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.Methods: LUS and chest-CT were performed within 24 hours upon admission. Both were analyzed according to semi-quantitative scoring systems. Subgroups were identified according to median LUS score.Results: patients within higher LUS-score group were older (79 vs 60 years, p<0.001), had higher C-reactive protein (CRP) (7.2 vs 1.3 mg/dl, p<0.001) and chest-CT score (10 vs 4, p=0.027) as well as lower PaO2/FiO2 (286 vs 356, p=0.029) as compared to patients within lower scores. We found a significant correlation between scores (r=0.390, p=0.023). Both LUS and CT scores correlated directly with patients age (r=0.586, p<0.001 and r=0.399, p=0.021 respectively) and CRP (r=0.472, p=0.002 and r=0.518, p=0.002 respectively), inversely with PaO2/FiO2 (r=-0.485, p=0.003 and r=-0.440, p=0.017 respectively). LUS-score only showed significant correlation with hs-Troponin T, NT-pro-BNP and creatinine (r=0.433, p=0.019; r=0.411, p=0.027 and r=0.497, p=0.001 respectively).Conclusions: semi-quantitative bedside LUS related to the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia similarly to chest-CT. Correlation of LUS-score with markers of cardiac and renal injury suggests that LUS might contribute to a more comprehensive evaluation of this heterogeneous population.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wang ◽  
Hong He ◽  
Cong Liao ◽  
Hongtao Hu ◽  
Chun Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that first manifested in humans in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, and has subsequently spread worldwide. Methods We conducted a retrospective, single-center case series of the seven maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients infected with COVID-19 at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 13 January to 7 April 2020 and a proactive search of potential cases by chest computed tomography (CT) scans. Results Of 202 HD patients, 7 (3.5%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. Five were diagnosed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) because of compatible symptoms, while two were diagnosed by RT-PCR as a result of screening 197 HD patients without respiratory symptoms by chest CT. Thirteen of 197 patients had positive chest CT features and, of these, 2 (15%) were confirmed to have COVID-19. In COVID-19 patients, the most common features at admission were fatigue, fever and diarrhea [5/7 (71%) had all these]. Common laboratory features included lymphocytopenia [6/7 (86%)], elevated lactate dehydrogenase [3/4 (75%)], D-dimer [5/6 (83%)], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [4/4 (100%)] and procalcitonin [5/5 (100%)]. Chest CT showed bilateral patchy shadows or ground-glass opacity in the lungs of all patients. Four of seven (57%) received oxygen therapy, one (14%) received noninvasive and invasive mechanical ventilation, five (71%) received antiviral and antibacterial drugs, three (43%) recieved glucocorticoid therapy and one (14%) received continuous renal replacement therapy. As the last follow-up, four of the seven patients (57%) had been discharged and three patients were dead. Conclusions Chest CT may identify COVID-19 patients without clear symptoms, but the specificity is low. The mortality of COVID-19 patients on HD was high.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Campoccia Jalde ◽  
Mats O. Beckman ◽  
Ann Mari Svensson ◽  
Max Bell ◽  
Magnus Sköld ◽  
...  

Purpose: Severe COVID-19 is associated with inflammation, thromboembolic disease, and high mortality. We studied factors associated with fatal outcomes in consecutive COVID-19 patients examined by computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA).Methods: This retrospective, single-center cohort analysis included 130 PCR-positive patients hospitalized for COVID-19 [35 women and 95 men, median age 57 years (interquartile range 51–64)] with suspected pulmonary embolism based on clinical suspicion. The presence and extent of embolism and parenchymal abnormalities on CTPA were recorded. The severity of pulmonary parenchymal involvement was stratified by two experienced radiologists into two groups: lesions affecting ≤50% or &gt;50% of the parenchyma. Patient characteristics, radiological aspects, laboratory parameters, and 60-day mortality data were collected.Results: Pulmonary embolism was present in 26% of the patients. Most emboli were small and peripheral. Patients with widespread parenchymal abnormalities, with or without pulmonary embolism, had increased main pulmonary artery diameter (p &lt; 0.05) and higher C-reactive protein (p &lt; 0.01), D-dimer (p &lt; 0.01), and troponin T (p &lt; 0.001) and lower hemoglobin (p &lt; 0.001). A wider main pulmonary artery diameter correlated positively with C-reactive protein (r = 0.28, p = 0.001, and n = 130) and procalcitonin. In a multivariant analysis, D-dimer &gt;7.2 mg/L [odds ratio (±95% confidence interval) 4.1 (1.4–12.0)] and ICU stay were significantly associated with embolism (p &lt; 0.001). The highest 60-day mortality was found in patients with widespread parenchymal abnormalities combined with pulmonary embolism (36%), followed by patients with widespread parenchymal abnormalities without pulmonary embolism (26%). In multivariate analysis, high troponin T, D-dimer, and plasma creatinine and widespread parenchymal abnormalities on CT were associated with 60-day mortality.Conclusions: Pulmonary embolism combined with widespread parenchymal abnormalities contributed to mortality risk in COVID-19. Elevated C-reactive protein, D-dimer, troponin-T, P-creatinine, and enlarged pulmonary artery were associated with a worse outcome and may mirror a more severe systemic disease. A liberal approach to radiological investigation should be recommended at clinical deterioration, when the situation allows it. Computed tomography imaging, even without intravenous contrast to assess the severity of pulmonary infiltrates, are of value to predict outcome in COVID-19. Better radiological techniques with higher resolution could potentially improve the detection of microthromboses. This could influence anticoagulant treatment strategies, preventing clinical detoriation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Negar Omidi ◽  
Masoumeh Lotfi-Tokaldany ◽  
Shapour Shirani ◽  
Mojtaba Salarifar ◽  
Hamidreza Poorhosseini ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Serial chest computed tomography (CT) scans are used to detect coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia and monitor the disease course. This study investigates relationship between total severity score by first chest CT and the outcome of coronavirus COVID-19 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Results A total of 48 patients with a history of CAD (mean age=60.83±3.06 years, 75% male) with positive real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for COVID-19 were included. Outcome was defined as acute respiratory distress syndrome or death. The unadjusted and adjusted effects of the CT score on the outcome were reported through odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Outcome occurred in 17 (35.5%) patients (8 deaths). The CT score was directly and significantly correlated with the outcome in the univariate analysis (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.12–1.70; P=0.003) and remained significant after adjustment for diabetes, hypertension, body mass index, and serum level of highly sensitive C-reactive protein (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.11–2.05; P=0.009). Outcome rate was 24.1% in patients with a CT score <2.5, whereas it was 8.3% in patients with a CT score>2.5. Conclusions The first chest CT score could be a robust predictor of adverse events in confirmed COVID-19 patients with coronary artery disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 762-770
Author(s):  
Naciye S Gezer ◽  
Göksel Bengi ◽  
Agah Baran ◽  
Pakize E Erkmen ◽  
Ömer S Topalak ◽  
...  

SUMMARY Comparison of radiological scoring systems, clinical scores, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and serum C-reactive protein level for severity and mortality in acute pancreatitis BACKGROUND/AIMS To compare radiological scoring systems, clinical scores, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for predicting the severity and mortality of acute pancreatitis (AP). MATERIALS AND METHODS Demographic, clinical, and radiographic data from 80 patients with AP were retrospectively evaluated. The harmless acute pancreatitis score (HAPS), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), bedside index for severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP), Ranson score, Balthazar score, modified computed tomography severity index (CTSI), extrapancreatic inflammation on computed tomography (EPIC) score and renal rim grade were recorded. The prognostic performance of radiological and clinical scoring systems, NLR at admission, and serum CRP levels at 48 hours were compared for severity and mortality according to the revised Atlanta Criteria. The data were evaluated by calculating the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the ROC (AUROC). RESULTS Out of 80 patients, 19 (23.8%) had severe AP, and 9 (11.3%) died. The AUROC for the BISAP score was 0.836 (95%CI: 0.735-0.937), with the highest value for severity. With a cut-off of BISAP ≥2, sensitivity and specificity were 68.4% and 78.7%, respectively. The AUROC for NLR was 0.915 (95%CI: 0.790-1), with the highest value for mortality. With a cut-off of NLR >11.91, sensitivity and specificity were 76.5% and 94.1%, respectively. Of all the radiological scoring systems, the EPIC score had the highest AUROC, i.e., 0.773 (95%CI: 0.645-0.900) for severity and 0.851 (95%CI: 0.718-0.983) for mortality, with a cut-off value ≥6. CONCLUSION The BISAP score and NLR might be preferred as early determinants of severity and mortality in AP. The EPIC score might be suggested from the current radiological scoring systems.


Author(s):  
Shimaa Farghaly ◽  
Marwa Makboul

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most recent global health emergency; early diagnosis of COVID-19 is very important for rapid clinical interventions and patient isolation; chest computed tomography (CT) plays an important role in screening, diagnosis, and evaluating the progress of the disease. According to the results of different studies, due to high severity of the disease, clinicians should be aware of the different potential risk factors associated with the fatal outcome, so chest CT severity scoring system was designed for semi-quantitative assessment of the severity of lung disease in COVID-19 patients, ranking the pulmonary involvement on 25 points severity scale according to extent of lung abnormalities; this study aims to evaluate retrospectively the relationship between age and severity of COVID-19 in both sexes based on chest CT severity scoring system. Results Age group C (40–49 year) was the commonest age group that was affected by COVID-19 by 21.3%, while the least affected group was group F (≥ 70 years) by only 6.4%. As regards COVID-RADS classification, COVID-RADS-3 was the most commonly presented at both sexes in all different age groups. Total CT severity lung score had a positive strong significant correlation with the age of the patient (r = 0.64, P < 0.001). Also, a positive strong significant correlation was observed between CT severity lung score and age in both males and females (r = 0.59, P < 0.001) and (r = 0.69, P < 0.001) respectively. Conclusion We concluded that age can be considered as a significant risk factor for the severity of COVID-19 in both sexes. Also, CT can be used as a significant diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and evaluation of the progression and severity of the disease.


Author(s):  
Grazia Portale ◽  
Federica Ciolina ◽  
Luca Arcari ◽  
Gianluca Di Lazzaro Giraldi ◽  
Massimiliano Danti ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Ebner ◽  
Felix Knobloch ◽  
Adrian Huber ◽  
Julia Landau ◽  
Daniel Ott ◽  
...  

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate a dose reduction in contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) by comparing the three latest generations of Siemens CT scanners used in clinical practice. We analyzed the amount of radiation used with filtered back projection (FBP) and an iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithm to yield the same image quality. Furthermore, the influence on the radiation dose of the most recent integrated circuit detector (ICD; Stellar detector, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) was investigated. Materials and Methods: 136 Patients were included. Scan parameters were set to a thorax routine: SOMATOM Sensation 64 (FBP), SOMATOM Definition Flash (IR), and SOMATOM Definition Edge (ICD and IR). Tube current was set constantly to the reference level of 100 mA automated tube current modulation using reference milliamperes. Care kV was used on the Flash and Edge scanner, while tube potential was individually selected between 100 and 140 kVp by the medical technologists at the SOMATOM Sensation. Quality assessment was performed on soft-tissue kernel reconstruction. Dose was represented by the dose length product. Results: Dose-length product (DLP) with FBP for the average chest CT was 308 mGy*cm ± 99.6. In contrast, the DLP for the chest CT with IR algorithm was 196.8 mGy*cm ± 68.8 (P = 0.0001). Further decline in dose can be noted with IR and the ICD: DLP: 166.4 mGy*cm ± 54.5 (P = 0.033). The dose reduction compared to FBP was 36.1% with IR and 45.6% with IR/ICD. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was favorable in the aorta, bone, and soft tissue for IR/ICD in combination compared to FBP (the P values ranged from 0.003 to 0.048). Overall contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) improved with declining DLP. Conclusion: The most recent technical developments, namely IR in combination with integrated circuit detectors, can significantly lower radiation dose in chest CT examinations.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document