Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Chest radiography (CXR) often is performed in the acute setting to help understand the extent of respiratory disease in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but a clearly defined role for negative chest radiograph results in assessing patients has not been described. RESEARCH QUESTION/OBJECTIVE:Is portable CXR an effective exclusionary test for future adverse clinical outcomes in patients suspected of having COVID-19? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS/METHODS:Charts of consecutive patients suspected of having COVID-19 at five EDs in New York City between March 19, 2020, and April 23, 2020, were reviewed. Patients were categorized based on absence of findings on initial CXR. The primary outcomes were hospital admission, mechanical ventilation, ARDS, and mortality. RESULTS:Three thousand two hundred forty-five adult patients, 474 (14.6%) with negative initial CXR results, were reviewed. Among all patients, negative initial CXR results were associated with a low probability of future adverse clinical outcomes, with negative likelihood ratios of 0.27 (95% CI, 0.23-0.31) for hospital admission, 0.24 (95% CI, 0.16-0.37) for mechanical ventilation, 0.19 (95% CI, 0.09-0.40) for ARDS, and 0.38 (95% CI, 0.29-0.51) for mortality. Among the subset of 955 patients younger than 65 years and with a duration of symptoms of at least 5 days, no patients with negative CXR results died, and the negative likelihood ratios were 0.17 (95% CI, 0.12-0.25) for hospital admission, 0.09 (95% CI, 0.02-0.36) for mechanical ventilation, and 0.09 (95% CI, 0.01-0.64) for ARDS. INTERPRETATION/CONCLUSIONS:Initial CXR in adult patients suspected of having COVID-19 is a strong exclusionary test for hospital admission, mechanical ventilation, ARDS, and mortality. The value of CXR as an exclusionary test for adverse clinical outcomes is highest among young adults, patients with few comorbidities, and those with a prolonged duration of symptoms.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the influence of coronary artery dominance on observed coronary artery calcification burden in outpatients presenting for coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). METHODS:A 12-month retrospective review was performed of all CCTAs at a single institution. Coronary arterial dominance, Agatston score and presence or absence of cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension (HTN), hyperlipidemia (HLD), diabetes and smoking were recorded. Dominance groups were compared in terms of calcium score adjusted for covariates using analysis of covariance based on ranks. Only covariates observed to be significant independent predictors of the relevant outcome were included in each analysis. All statistical tests were conducted at the two-sided 5% significance level. RESULTS:1223 individuals, 618 women and 605 men were included, mean age 60 years (24-93 years). Right coronary dominance was observed in 91.7% (n = 1109), left dominance in 8% (n = 98), and codominance in 1.3% (n = 16). The distribution of patients among Agatston score severity categories significantly differed between codominant and left (p = 0.008), and codominant and right (p = 0.022) groups, with higher prevalence of either zero or severe CAC in the codominant patients. There was no significant difference in Agatston score between dominance groups. In the subset of individuals with coronary artery calcification, Agatston score was significantly higher in codominant versus left dominant patients (mean Agatston score 595 ± 520 vs. mean 289 ± 607, respectively; p = 0.049), with a trend towards higher scores in comparison to the right-dominant group (p = 0.093). Significance was not maintained upon adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSIONS:While the distribution of Agatston score severity categories differed in codominant versus right- or left-dominant patients, there was no significant difference in Agatston score based on coronary dominance pattern in our cohort. Reporting and inclusion of codominant subsets in larger investigations may elucidate whether codominant anatomy is associated with differing risk.

Purpose/UNASSIGNED:To train a deep learning classification algorithm to predict chest radiograph severity scores and clinical outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Materials and Methods/UNASSIGNED:= 110) populations. Bootstrapping was used to compute CIs. Results/UNASSIGNED:The model trained on the chest radiograph severity score produced the following areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs): 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.88) for the chest radiograph severity score, 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.84) for admission, 0.66 (95% CI: 0.56, 0.75) for intubation, and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.69) for death. The model trained on clinical variables produced an AUC of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.55, 0.73) for intubation and an AUC of 0.59 (95% CI: 0.50, 0.68) for death. Combining chest radiography and clinical variables increased the AUC of intubation and death to 0.88 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.96) and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.91), respectively. Conclusion/UNASSIGNED:© RSNA, 2020.

BACKGROUND:Recent studies have demonstrated a complex interplay between comorbid cardiovascular disease, COVID-19 pathophysiology, and poor clinical outcomes. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) may therefore aid in risk stratification of COVID-19 patients. METHODS:Non-contrast chest CT studies on 180 COVID-19 patients ≥ age 21 admitted from March 1, 2020 to April 27, 2020 were retrospectively reviewed by two radiologists to determine CAC scores. Following feature selection, multivariable logistic regression was utilized to evaluate the relationship between CAC scores and patient outcomes. RESULTS:The presence of any identified CAC was associated with intubation (AOR: 3.6, CI: 1.4-9.6) and mortality (AOR: 3.2, CI: 1.4-7.9). Severe CAC was independently associated with intubation (AOR: 4.0, CI: 1.3-13) and mortality (AOR: 5.1, CI: 1.9-15). A greater CAC score (UOR: 1.2, CI: 1.02-1.3) and number of vessels with calcium (UOR: 1.3, CI: 1.02-1.6) was associated with mortality. Visualized coronary stent or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) had no statistically significant association with intubation (AOR: 1.9, CI: 0.4-7.7) or death (AOR: 3.4, CI: 1.0-12). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:COVID-19 patients with any CAC were more likely to require intubation and die than those without CAC. Increasing CAC and number of affected arteries was associated with mortality. Severe CAC was associated with higher intubation risk. Prior CABG or stenting had no association with elevated intubation or death.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:We describe the presenting characteristics and hospital course of 11 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients who developed spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema (SE) with or without pneumomediastinum (SPM) in the absence of prior mechanical ventilation. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:A total of 11 non-intubated COVID-19 patients (8 male and 3 female, median age 61 years) developed SE and SPM between March 15 and April 30, 2020 at a multi-center urban health system in New York City. Demographics (age, gender, smoking status, comorbid conditions, and body-mass index), clinical variables (temperature, oxygen saturation, and symptoms), and laboratory values (white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and peak interleukin-6) were collected. Chest radiography (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) were analyzed for SE, SPM, and pneumothorax by a board-certified cardiothoracic-fellowship trained radiologist. RESULTS:Eleven non-intubated patients developed SE, 36% (4/11) of whom had SE on their initial CXR. Concomitant SPM was apparent in 91% (10/11) of patients, and 45% (5/11) also developed pneumothorax. Patients developed SE on average 13.3 days (SD: 6.3) following symptom onset. No patients reported a history of smoking. The most common comorbidities included hypertension (6/11), diabetes mellitus (5/11), asthma (3/11), dyslipidemia (3/11), and renal disease (2/11). Four (36%) patients expired during hospitalization. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:SE and SPM were observed in a cohort of 11 non-intubated COVID-19 patients without any known cause or history of invasive ventilation. Further investigation is required to elucidate the underlying mechanism in this patient population.

As the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread, some patients are presenting with abdominal symptoms without respiratory complaints. Our case series documents four patients who presented with abdominal symptoms whose abdominopelvic CT revealed incidental pulmonary parenchymal findings in the imaged lung bases and were subsequently confirmed positive for COVID-19 via laboratory testing. It remains to be seen whether these patients will eventually develop respiratory symptoms. While it is possible that the patients' abdominal complaints are coincidental with CT findings, it is interesting that patients can have such extensive incidental disease in the lungs on CT without respiratory symptoms.

Background Chest radiography has not been validated for its prognostic utility in evaluating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Purpose To analyze the prognostic value of a chest radiograph severity scoring system for younger (nonelderly) patients with COVID-19 at initial presentation to the emergency department (ED); outcomes of interest included hospitalization, intubation, prolonged stay, sepsis, and death. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, patients between the ages of 21 and 50 years who presented to the ED of an urban multicenter health system from March 10 to March 26, 2020, with COVID-19 confirmation on real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction were identified. Each patient's ED chest radiograph was divided into six zones and examined for opacities by two cardiothoracic radiologists, and scores were collated into a total concordant lung zone severity score. Clinical and laboratory variables were collected. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between clinical parameters, chest radiograph scores, and patient outcomes. Results The study included 338 patients: 210 men (62%), with median age of 39 years (interquartile range, 31-45 years). After adjustment for demographics and comorbidities, independent predictors of hospital admission (n = 145, 43%) were chest radiograph severity score of 2 or more (odds ratio, 6.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5, 11; P < .001) and obesity (odds ratio, 2.4 [95% CI: 1.1, 5.4] or morbid obesity). Among patients who were admitted, a chest radiograph score of 3 or more was an independent predictor of intubation (n = 28) (odds ratio, 4.7; 95% CI: 1.8, 13; P = .002) as was hospital site. No significant difference was found in primary outcomes across race and ethnicity or those with a history of tobacco use, asthma, or diabetes mellitus type II. Conclusion For patients aged 21-50 years with coronavirus disease 2019 presenting to the emergency department, a chest radiograph severity score was predictive of risk for hospital admission and intubation. © RSNA, 2020 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

In this article we will review the imaging features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across multiple modalities, including radiography, CT, MRI, PET/CT, and US. Given that COVID-19 primarily affects the lung parenchyma by causing pneumonia, our directive is to focus on thoracic findings associated with COVID-19. We aim to enhance radiologists' understanding of this disease to help guide diagnosis and management. Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2020.