tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Neurology
. 2020 Jun 16;10.1212/WNL.0000000000010116.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010116. Online ahead of print.
Early Postmortem Brain MRI Findings in COVID-19 Non-Survivors
Tim Coolen[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Valentina Lolli[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Niloufar Sadeghi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Antonin Rova?[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Nicola Trotta[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Fabio Silvio Taccone[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jacques Creteur[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Sophie Henrard[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jean-Christophe Goffard[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Olivier De Witte[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Gilles Naeije[SUP] 3 7 [/SUP], Serge Goldman[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Xavier De Ti?ge[SUP] 8 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objectives: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is considered to have potential neuro-invasiveness that might lead to acute brain disorders or contribute to respiratory distress in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study investigates the occurrence of structural brain abnormalities in non-survivors of COVID-19 in a virtopsy framework.
Methods: In this prospective, monocentric, case series study, consecutive patients who fulfilled the following inclusion criteria benefited from an early postmortem structural brain MRI: death <24 hours, SARS-CoV-2 detection on nasopharyngeal swab specimen, chest computerized tomographic (CT) scan suggestive of COVID-19, absence of known focal brain lesion, and MRI compatibility.
Results: Among the 62 patients who died from COVID-19 from 31/03/2020 to 24/04/2020 at our institution, 19 decedents fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Parenchymal brain abnormalities were observed in 4 decedents: subcortical micro- and macro-bleeds (2 decedents), cortico-subcortical edematous changes evocative of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES, one decedent), and nonspecific deep white matter changes (one decedent). Asymmetric olfactory bulbs were found in 4 other decedents without downstream olfactory tract abnormalities. No brainstem MRI signal abnormality was observed.
Conclusions: Postmortem brain MRI demonstrates hemorrhagic and PRES-related brain lesions in non-survivors of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2-related olfactory impairment seems to be limited to olfactory bulbs. Brainstem MRI findings do not support a brain-related contribution to respiratory distress in COVID-19.
. 2020 Jun 16;10.1212/WNL.0000000000010116.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010116. Online ahead of print.
Early Postmortem Brain MRI Findings in COVID-19 Non-Survivors
Tim Coolen[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Valentina Lolli[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Niloufar Sadeghi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Antonin Rova?[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Nicola Trotta[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Fabio Silvio Taccone[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jacques Creteur[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Sophie Henrard[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jean-Christophe Goffard[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Olivier De Witte[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Gilles Naeije[SUP] 3 7 [/SUP], Serge Goldman[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Xavier De Ti?ge[SUP] 8 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32546654
- DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010116
Abstract
Objectives: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is considered to have potential neuro-invasiveness that might lead to acute brain disorders or contribute to respiratory distress in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study investigates the occurrence of structural brain abnormalities in non-survivors of COVID-19 in a virtopsy framework.
Methods: In this prospective, monocentric, case series study, consecutive patients who fulfilled the following inclusion criteria benefited from an early postmortem structural brain MRI: death <24 hours, SARS-CoV-2 detection on nasopharyngeal swab specimen, chest computerized tomographic (CT) scan suggestive of COVID-19, absence of known focal brain lesion, and MRI compatibility.
Results: Among the 62 patients who died from COVID-19 from 31/03/2020 to 24/04/2020 at our institution, 19 decedents fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Parenchymal brain abnormalities were observed in 4 decedents: subcortical micro- and macro-bleeds (2 decedents), cortico-subcortical edematous changes evocative of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES, one decedent), and nonspecific deep white matter changes (one decedent). Asymmetric olfactory bulbs were found in 4 other decedents without downstream olfactory tract abnormalities. No brainstem MRI signal abnormality was observed.
Conclusions: Postmortem brain MRI demonstrates hemorrhagic and PRES-related brain lesions in non-survivors of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2-related olfactory impairment seems to be limited to olfactory bulbs. Brainstem MRI findings do not support a brain-related contribution to respiratory distress in COVID-19.