A case series of chest imaging manifestation of COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).¹ It started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, after which quickly spread to many other countries around the world. Chest radiography (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) play key roles in managment and diagnosis of COVID-19. In this case series we are presenting three patients with predominant left-sided changes caused by COVID-19 infection.     

Current status quo on COVID-19 including chest imaging

With each day the number coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continue to rise rapidly and our imaging knowledge of this disease is expeditiously evolving. The role of chest computed tomography (CT) in the screening or diagnosis of COVID-19 remains the subject of much debate. Despite several months having passed since identifying the disease, and numerous studies related to it, controversy and concern still exists regarding the widespread use of chest CT in the evaluation and management of COVID-19 suspect patients. Several institutes and organizations around the world have released guidelines, recommendations and statements against the use of CT for diagnosing or screening COVID-19 infection and advocating its use only for those cases with a strong clinical suspicion of complication or an alternate diagnosis. However, these guidelines and recommendations are in disagreement with majority of the widely available literature, which strongly favour CT as a pivotal tool in the early diagnosis, management and even follow-up of COVID-19 infection. This article besides comprehensively reviewing the current status quo on COVID-19 disease in general, also writes upon the current consensus statements/recommendations on the use of diagnostic imaging in COVID-19 as well as highlighting the precautions and various disinfection procedures being employed world-wide at the workplace to prevent the spread of infection.     

Pattern of liver injury in adult patients with COVID-19:a retrospective analysis of 105 patients

Background:Recent studies reported that patients with coronavirus disease-2019(COVID-19)might have liver injury.However,few data on the combined analysis and change patterns of alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and total bilirubin(TBil)have been shown.Methods:This is a single-center retrospective study.A total of 105 adult patients hospitalized for confirmed COVID-19 in Beijing Ditan Hospital between January 12,and March 17,2020 were included,and divided into mild group(n=79)and severe group(n=26).We compared liver functional test results between the two groups.Category of ALT change during the disease course was also examined.Results:56.2％(59/105)of the patients had unnormal ALT,AST,or total TBil throughout the course of the disease,but in 91.4％(96/105)cases the level of ALT,AST or TBil≤3 fold of the upper limit of normal reference range(ULN).The overall distribution of ALT,AST,and TBil were all significantly difference between mild and severe group(P＜0.05).The percentage of the patients with elevated both ALT and AST was 12.7％(10/79)in mild cases vs.46.2％(12/26)in severe cases(P=0.001).34.6％(9/26)severe group patients started to have abnormal ALT after admission,and 73.3％(77/105)of all patients had normal ALT before discharge.Conclusions:Elevated liver function index is very common in patients with COVID-19 infection,and the level were less than 3xULN,but most are reversible.The abnormality of 2 or more indexes is low in the patients with COVID-19,but it is more likely to occur in the severe group.     

Cardio-thoracic imaging and COVID-19 in the pediatric population: A narrative review

Worldwide experience about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemics suggests that symptomatic disease is significantly less frequent in the pediatric age range. Nevertheless, multi-system inflammatory syndrome has been consistently reported in children and has been associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 exposure. In this paper we give an overview of the multimodality chest imaging of pediatric patients with suspected COVID-19, focusing on relevant differences with adults.     

Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging of the pediatric chest: current practical imaging assessment

In the chest, the indications for nuclear medicine studies are broader and more varied in children than in adults. In children, nuclear medicine studies are used to evaluate congenital and developmental disorders of the chest, as well as diseases more typical of adults. In the chest, pediatric nuclear medicine uses the same radiopharmaceuticals and imaging techniques as used in adults to evaluate cardiac and pulmonary disease, aerodigestive disorders, and pediatric malignancies. The introduction of PET (mostly using (18)F-FDG) has transformed pediatric nuclear oncology, particular for imaging malignancies in the chest.     

胸部低剂量CT在新型冠状病毒疾病患者出院后复查的应用价值

目的 探讨胸部低剂量CT在新型冠状病毒疾病（COVID-19）患者好转出院后复查应用价值。方法 回顾性分析2020年3月17日至3月25日经武汉大学人民医院治疗出院后的58例COVID-19患者胸部低剂量CT表现,由两名影像医师独立评价CT图像质量,采用5分法进行评分。并计算信噪比（SNR）、背景噪声（SD_air）及辐射剂量。结果 出院前常规剂量组和出院后复查低剂量组图像主观评分观察者1和观察者2分别为4.45±0.22、3.88±0.33（P>0.05）和4.37±0.18、3.91±0.35（P>0.05）;低剂量组的SNR与SD_air分别为4.39±0.95和7.19±2.41,显著低于常规组的5.14±1.06（Z=-5.551,P<0.001）和6.48±1.57（Z=-3.217,P<0.001）,图像质量均能满足临床诊断。低剂量组的CT容积剂量指数（CTDI_vol）、剂量长度乘积（DLP）及有效剂量（E）分别为（2.41±0.09） mGy、（88.03±5.33） mGy·cm和（1.23±0.17） mSv,均显著低于常规组［（10.53±1.03） mGy,（338.74±34.64） mGy·cm,（4.74±0.48） mSv,Z=-6.568、-6.624、-5.976,P<0.001）。结论 COVID-19患者出院后可采用胸部低剂量CT复查。     

Multimodality imaging in COVID-19 patients: A key role from diagnosis to prognosis

The integrated clinical, laboratory and ultrasound approach is essential for the diagnosis, evaluation and monitoring of the patient's therapy in coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia. The ideal imaging approach in this context is not yet well defined. Chest X-ray is characterized by low sensitivity in identifying earlier lung changes. The "bedside" pulmonary ultrasound has an undeniable series of advantages in the patient at high infectious risk and can provide incremental data in the respiratory intensive care for the serial control of the individual patient as well as for the home delivery of the stabilized subjects. Pulmonary computed tomography shows high sensitivity but should not be routinely performed in all patients, because in the first 48 h it can be absolutely negative and in the late phase the imaging findings may not change the therapeutic approach. Echocardiography should be limited to patients with hemodynamic instability to assess ventricular function and pulmonary pressures.     

胸部穿透伤伴异物存留诊治分析

目的总结胸部穿透伤伴异物存留的救治经验,进一步提高诊治水平。方法笔者回顾性分析1997年1月~2015年5月收治的胸部穿透伤伴异物存留28例患者的临床资料,其中男性24例,女性4例;年龄15~64岁,平均43.5岁。受伤至入院时间20min~37h,平均52.4min。结果本组28例患者均急诊行剖胸探查及异物取出术,剖胸手术入路选择前外侧切口14例(50.00%),后外侧切口7例(25.00%),锁骨及第1、2肋切断3例(10.72%),胸骨正中切口2例(7.14%),胸腹联合切口2例(7.14%);脏器损伤51例次,其中肺裂伤22例次(43.14%),心脏大血管伤5例次(9.80%),肋间动脉伤5例次(9.80%),脊柱及纵隔伤4例次(7.84%),膈肌伤8例次(15.69%),胸导管1例次(1.96%),腹腔脏器伤6例次(11.77%)。对损伤脏器均行一期确定性手术,包括肺裂伤切开深部止血后缝合、心脏大血管修补缝合、肋间动脉缝扎止血、纵隔血肿清除、膈肌修补、胸导管结扎以及肝脏、胃修补和脾切除。27例(96.43%)异物完全取出,1例(3.57%)部分异物残留,死亡2例(7.14%)。结论术前恰当的生命支持、术中针对性选择切口、明确人员分工、合理的手术操作是治疗胸部穿透伤伴异物存留成功的关键。     

Evaluating pediatric brain tumor cellularity with diffusion-tensor imaging.

OBJECTIVE: MR imaging of central nervous system (CNS) malignancies falls short of a definitive evaluation. Tissue diagnosis remains the gold standard. Diffusion-tensor MR imaging measures the apparent diffusion coefficient and diffusion anisotropy of water in tissue. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the apparent diffusion coefficient may improve the MR imaging evaluation of newly diagnosed CNS neoplasms. We examined the relationship between the apparent diffusion coefficient, anisotropy, and tumor cellularity in 12 pediatric patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: On the basis of histopathologic evaluation, tumors in this case series were segregated into three types: low-grade gliomas, embryonal tumors, and nonembryonal high-grade tumors. Mean apparent diffusion coefficient and anisotropy values obtained from the solid components of each tumor were compared with cellularity, total cellular area, and total nuclear area derived from biopsy material. RESULTS: The apparent diffusion coefficient ratio (tumor to normal brain) correlated well with tumor classification (p = 0.001). Anisotropy was decreased similarly in all tumor classifications. The absolute apparent diffusion coefficient correlated well with cellularity (p = 0.014) and total nuclear area (p = 0.005) per high-power field. The correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient and total cellular area per high-power field was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The apparent diffusion coefficient may be predictive of tumor classification and may be a useful tool in characterizing tumor cellularity and total nuclear area. These parameters are not available in standard MR imaging. Therefore, diffusion-tensor imaging may enhance the diagnostic process in pediatric CNS malignancies.     

Postmortem findings in COVID-19 fatalities: A systematic review of current evidence

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Almost 17 months after the first COVID-19 case was reported, the exact pathogenesis of the virus is still open to interpretation. Postmortem studies have been relatively scarce due to the high infectivity rate of the virus. We systematically reviewed the literature available for studies that reported gross, histological, microscopic, and immunohistochemical findings in COVID-19 fatalities with the aim of reporting any recurrent findings among different demographics. PubMed and Scopus were searched up till the second of May 2021 and 46 studies with a total of 793 patients were shortlisted after the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The selected studies reported gross, histological, microscopic, and immunohistochemical autopsy findings in the lungs, heart, liver, gallbladder, bowels, kidney, spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes, CNS, pancreas, endocrine/exocrine glands, and a few other miscellaneous locations. The SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected in multiple organs and so was the presence of widespread microthrombi. This finding suggests that the pathogenesis of this highly infectious virus might be linked to some form of coagulopathy. Further studies should focus on analyzing postmortem findings in a larger number of patients from different demographics in order to obtain more generalizable results.     

COVID-19 related vascular complications in a pediatric patient: A case report

The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a relatively recent infection that has resulted in a global pandemic, appearing first at the end of 2019. While initially presenting as a predominantly respiratory disease, with a classical picture of fever, dry cough, dyspnea and, in some cases anosmia and ageusia, recent cases have shown increasingly atypical and more systemic manifestation of the disease. A precise understanding of the extent and pathophysiology of COVID-19 remains underway to this day, particularly concerning its behavior in the pediatric population. Moreover, there has been an increasing number of COVID-19 reports with neurological complications and manifestations, prompting inquiry into neuroinvasion. Postulations include indirect invasion through a surge of inflammatory mediators “cytokine storm” and subsequent widespread endothelial injury; and direct neural tropism. We report the case of a previously healthy 12-year-old male presenting with acute right-sided hemiparesis, new-onset seizures and a generalized petechial rash. Laboratory tests revealed elevated inflammatory markers and radiological investigations confirmed an evolving left middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarct and large vessel vasculitis. Testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection was positive.