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Is lung density associated with severity of COVID-19?

Authors :
Bressem, Keno K.
Adams, Lisa C.
Albrecht, Jakob
Petersen, Antonie
Thieß, Hans-Martin
Niehues, Alexandra
Niehues, Stefan M.
Vahldiek, Janis L.
Source :
Polish Journal of Radiology; 10/30/2020, Vol. 85, pe600-e606, 7p
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

Purpose: Emphysema and chronic obstructive lung disease were previously identified as major risk factors for severe disease progression in COVID-19. Computed tomography (CT)-based lung-density analysis offers a fast, reliable, and quantitative assessment of lung density. Therefore, we aimed to assess the benefit of CT-based lung density measurements to predict possible severe disease progression in COVID-19. Material and methods: Thirty COVID-19-positive patients were included in this retrospective study. Lung density was quantified based on routinely acquired chest CTs. Presence of COVID-19 was confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Wilcoxon test was used to compare two groups of patients. A multivariate regression analysis, adjusted for age and sex, was employed to model the relative increase of risk for severe disease, depending on the measured densities. Results: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients or patients requiring mechanical ventilation showed a lower proportion of medium- and low-density lung volume compared to patients on the normal ward, but a significantly larger volume of high-density lung volume (12.26 dl IQR 4.65 dl vs. 7.51 dl vs. IQR 5.39 dl, p = 0.039). In multivariate regression analysis, high-density lung volume was identified as a significant predictor of severe disease. Conclusions: The amount of high-density lung tissue showed a significant association with severe COVID-19, with odds ratios of 1.42 (95% CI: 1.09-2.00) and 1.37 (95% CI: 1.03-2.11) for requiring intensive care and mechanical ventilation, respectively. Acknowledging our small sample size as an important limitation; our study might thus suggest that high-density lung tissue could serve as a possible predictor of severe COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1733134X
Volume :
85
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Polish Journal of Radiology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
146936348
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.5114/pjr.2020.100788