tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Magn Reson Imaging
. 2020 Nov 18;S0730-725X(20)30639-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2020.11.004. Online ahead of print.
High-performance low field MRI enables visualization of persistent pulmonary damage after COVID-19
Rafael Heiss[SUP] 1 [/SUP], David M Grodzki[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Wilhelm Horger[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Michael Uder[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Armin M Nagel[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sebastian Bickelhaupt[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with the origin of the spread assumed to be located in Wuhan, China, began in December 2019, and is continuing until now. With the COVID-19 pandemic showing a progressive spread throughout the countries of the world, there is emerging interest for the potential long-term consequences of suffering from a COVID-19 pneumonia. Imaging plays a central role in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 pneumonia, with chest X-ray examinations and computed tomography (CT) being undoubtedly the modalities most widely used, allowing for a fast and sensitive detection of infiltration patterns associated with COVID-19 pneumonia. For a better understanding of underlying pathomechanisms of pulmonary damage, longitudinal imaging series are warranted, for which CT is of limited usability due to repeated exposure of X-rays. Recent advances in MRI suggested that high-performance low-field MRI might represent a valuable method for pulmonary imaging without the need of radiation exposure. However, so far, low-field MRI has not been applied to study pulmonary damage after COVID-19 pneumonia. We present a case report of a patient who suffered from COVID-19 pneumonia using 0.55 T MRI for follow-up examinations three months after initial infection. Low-field MRI enables a precise visualization of persistent pulmonary changes including ground-glass opacities, which are consistent with CT performed on the same day. Low-field MRI seems to be feasible in the detection of pulmonary involvement in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and may have the potential for repetitive lung examinations in monitoring the reconvalescence after pulmonary infections.
. 2020 Nov 18;S0730-725X(20)30639-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2020.11.004. Online ahead of print.
High-performance low field MRI enables visualization of persistent pulmonary damage after COVID-19
Rafael Heiss[SUP] 1 [/SUP], David M Grodzki[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Wilhelm Horger[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Michael Uder[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Armin M Nagel[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sebastian Bickelhaupt[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33220447
- DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2020.11.004
Abstract
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with the origin of the spread assumed to be located in Wuhan, China, began in December 2019, and is continuing until now. With the COVID-19 pandemic showing a progressive spread throughout the countries of the world, there is emerging interest for the potential long-term consequences of suffering from a COVID-19 pneumonia. Imaging plays a central role in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 pneumonia, with chest X-ray examinations and computed tomography (CT) being undoubtedly the modalities most widely used, allowing for a fast and sensitive detection of infiltration patterns associated with COVID-19 pneumonia. For a better understanding of underlying pathomechanisms of pulmonary damage, longitudinal imaging series are warranted, for which CT is of limited usability due to repeated exposure of X-rays. Recent advances in MRI suggested that high-performance low-field MRI might represent a valuable method for pulmonary imaging without the need of radiation exposure. However, so far, low-field MRI has not been applied to study pulmonary damage after COVID-19 pneumonia. We present a case report of a patient who suffered from COVID-19 pneumonia using 0.55 T MRI for follow-up examinations three months after initial infection. Low-field MRI enables a precise visualization of persistent pulmonary changes including ground-glass opacities, which are consistent with CT performed on the same day. Low-field MRI seems to be feasible in the detection of pulmonary involvement in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and may have the potential for repetitive lung examinations in monitoring the reconvalescence after pulmonary infections.