Multidetector CT and radiographic findings of lung injuries secondary to cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Objectives

Lung injury is one of the complications of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This is the first study to describe the MDCT and radiographic findings of lung injuries secondary to CPR.

Methods

A total of 44 patients who underwent CPR for a non-traumatic cause of cardiac arrest were retrospectively included in this study. We evaluated the presence of lung injuries in the initial chest radiograph and MDCT performed immediately after CPR and described the MDCT and radiographic findings of the CPR-associated lung injuries. Finally, we evaluated the temporal pattern of lung injury on the follow-up radiographies.

Results

Chest CT demonstrated lung injury in 54 lungs of 35 patients, while initial chest radiography detected lung abnormality in 37 lungs of 28 patients. The most common patterns of lung injuries on chest CT were bilateral (n = 19), ground-glass opacity (n = 30) and consolidation (n = 26), distributed along the bronchovascular bundles (n = 13). Most of the abnormalities were located in the posterior part of both upper lobes and both lower lobes (n = 29). Among seven patients who did not have abnormalities in the initial chest radiograph, lung abnormalities were detected on the follow-up radiographies (mean follow-up duration = 1.6 days, range = 1–3 days) in five patients, and 28 patients who had lung abnormalities on initial radiograph were improved (n = 19) or aggravated (n = 8) on the follow-up radiographies.

Conclusions

Lung injuries are frequent complications in patients who underwent CPR. Compared with radiography, MDCT has benefits for the detection and characterisation of CPR-associated lung injuries. The most common findings of lung injuries after CPR were bilateral ground glass opacity and consolidation, usually in the dependent area of both lungs.