Brain Imaging of Patients with COVID-19: Findings at an Academic Institution during the Height of the Outbreak in New York City

A large spectrum of neurologic disease has been reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Our aim was to investigate the yield of neuroimaging in patients with COVID-19 undergoing CT or MR imaging of the brain and to describe associated imaging findings. We performed a...

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Veröffentlicht in:American journal of neuroradiology : AJNR 2020-11, Vol.41 (11), p.2001-2008
Hauptverfasser: Lin, E, Lantos, J E, Strauss, S B, Phillips, C D, Campion, Jr, T R, Navi, B B, Parikh, N S, Merkler, A E, Mir, S, Zhang, C, Kamel, H, Cusick, M, Goyal, P, Gupta, A
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:A large spectrum of neurologic disease has been reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Our aim was to investigate the yield of neuroimaging in patients with COVID-19 undergoing CT or MR imaging of the brain and to describe associated imaging findings. We performed a retrospective cohort study involving 2054 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 presenting to 2 hospitals in New York City between March 4 and May 9, 2020, of whom 278 (14%) underwent either CT or MR imaging of the brain. All images initially received a formal interpretation from a neuroradiologist within the institution and were subsequently reviewed by 2 neuroradiologists in consensus, with disputes resolved by a third neuroradiologist. The median age of these patients was 64 years (interquartile range, 50-75 years), and 43% were women. Among imaged patients, 58 (21%) demonstrated acute or subacute neuroimaging findings, the most common including cerebral infarctions (11%), parenchymal hematomas (3.6%), and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (1.1%). Among the 51 patients with MR imaging examinations, 26 (51%) demonstrated acute or subacute findings; notable findings included 6 cases of cranial nerve abnormalities (including 4 patients with olfactory bulb abnormalities) and 3 patients with a microhemorrhage pattern compatible with critical illness-associated microbleeds. Our experience confirms the wide range of neurologic imaging findings in patients with COVID-19 and suggests the need for further studies to optimize management for these patients.
ISSN:0195-6108
1936-959X
DOI:10.3174/ajnr.A6793