Severe COVID-19 pneumonia: Perfusion analysis in correlation with pulmonary embolism and vessel enlargement using...

Gas exchange in COVID-19 pneumonia is impaired and vessel obstruction has been suspected to cause ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Dual-energy CT (DECT) can depict pulmonary perfusion by regional assessment of iodine uptake.

The purpose of this study was the analysis of pulmonary perfusion using dual-energy CT in a cohort of 27 consecutive patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

We retrospectively analyzed pulmonary perfusion with DECT in 27 consecutive patients (mean age 57 years, range 21-73; 19 men and 8 women) with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Iodine uptake (IU) in regions-of-interest placed into normally aerated lung, ground-glass opacifications (GGO) and consolidations was measured using a dedicated postprocessing software. Vessel enlargement (VE) within opacifications and presence of pulmonary embolism (PE) was assessed by subjective analysis. Linear mixed models were used for statistical analyses.

Compared to normally aerated lung 106/151 (70.2%) opacifications without upstream PE demonstrated an increased IU, 9/151 (6.0%) an equal IU and 36/151 (23.8%) a decreased IU. The estimated mean iodine uptake (EMIU) in opacifications without upstream PE (GGO 1.77 mg/mL; 95%-CI: 1.52-2.02; p = 0.011, consolidations 1.82 mg/mL; 95%-CI: 1.56-2.08, p = 0.006) was significantly higher compared to normal lung (1.22 mg/mL; 95%-CI: 0.95-1.49). In case of upstream PE, EMIU of opacifications (combined GGO and consolidations) was significantly decreased compared to normal lung (0.52 mg/mL; 95%-CI: -0.07-1.12; p = 0.043). The presence of VE in opacifications correlated significantly with iodine uptake (p<0.001).

DECT revealed the opacifications in a subset of patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia to be perfused non-uniformly with some being hypo- and others being hyperperfused. Mean iodine uptake in opacifications (both ground-glass and consolidation) was higher compared to normally aerated lung except for areas with upstream pulmonary embolism. Vessel enlargement correlated with iodine uptake: In summary, in a cohort of 27 consecutive patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, dual-energy CT demonstrated a wide range of iodine uptake in pulmonary ground-glass opacifications and consolidations as a surrogate marker for hypo- and hyperperfusion compared to normally aerated lung. Applying DECT to determine which pathophysiology is predominant might help to tailor therapy to the individual patient´s needs.