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Brain and lung imaging correlation in patients with COVID-19: Could the severity of lung disease reflect the prevalence of acute abnormalities on neuroimaging? A global multicenter observational study

  • A. Mahammedi
  • , A. Ramos
  • , N. Bargalló
  • , M. Gaskill
  • , S. Kapur
  • , L. Saba
  • , H. Carrete
  • , S. Sengupta
  • , E. Salvador
  • , A. Hilario
  • , Y. Revilla
  • , M. Sanchez
  • , M. Perez-Nuñez
  • , S. Bachir
  • , B. Zhang
  • , L. Oleaga
  • , J. Sergio
  • , L. Koren
  • , P. Martin-Medina
  • , L. Wang
  • M. Benegas, F. Ostos, G. Gonzalez-Ortega, P. Calleja, G. Udstuen, B. Williamson, V. Khandwala, S. Chadalavada, D. Woo, A. Vagal
  • University of Cincinnati
  • Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre
  • Hospital Clinic de Barcelona
  • University Hospital of Cagliari
  • Universidade Federal de São Paulo
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: Our aim was to study the association between abnormal findings on chest and brain imaging in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and neurologic symptoms. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective, international multicenter study, we reviewed the electronic medical records and imaging of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from March 3, 2020, to June 25, 2020. Our inclusion criteria were patients diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with acute neurologic manifestations and available chest CT and brain imaging. The 5 lobes of the lungs were individually scored on a scale of 0-5 (0 corresponded to no involvement and 5 corresponded to >75% involvement). A CT lung severity score was determined as the sum of lung involvement, ranging from 0 (no involvement) to 25 (maximum involvement). Results: A total of 135 patients met the inclusion criteria with 132 brain CT, 36 brain MR imaging, 7 MRA of the head and neck, and 135 chest CT studies. Compared with 86 (64%) patients without acute abnormal findings on neuroimaging, 49 (36%) patients with these findings had a significantly higher mean CT lung severity score (9.9 versus 5.8, P<.001). These patients were more likely to present with ischemic stroke (40 [82%] versus 11 [13%], P<.0001) and were more likely to have either ground-glass opacities or consolidation (46 [94%] versus 73 [84%], P=.01) in the lungs. A threshold of the CT lung severity score of >8 was found to be 74% sensitive and 65% specific for acute abnormal findings on neuroimaging. The neuroimaging hallmarks of these patients were acute ischemic infarct (28%), intracranial hemorrhage (10%) including microhemorrhages (19%), and leukoencephalopathy with and/or without restricted diffusion (11%). The predominant CT chest findings were peripheral ground-glass opacities with or without consolidation. Conclusions: The CT lung disease severity score may be predictive of acute abnormalities on neuroimaging in patients with COVID-19 with neurologic manifestations. This can be used as a predictive tool in patient management to improve clinical outcome.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1008-1016
Number of pages9
JournalAmerican Journal of Neuroradiology
Volume42
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2021

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