The correlation between COVID-19 segmentation volume based on artificial intelligence technology and gastric wall...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Radiology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) can affect the gastrointestinal tract.
• Gastrointestinal symptoms are observed in a subset of COVID-19 patients.
• Computed tomography (CT) is a key imaging modality for assessing COVID-19 pneumonia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gastric wall manifestations in COVID-19 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms using CT.
• To identify risk factors associated with gastric wall abnormalities in these patients.

Main Methods:

• Enrolled 240 COVID-19 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea).
• Performed chest CT scans, including the gastric antrum, for all patients.
• Calculated the pneumonia to lung volume ratio (PV/LV) and analyzed laboratory parameters like fibrinogen, thrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and albumin.

Main Results:

• 109 patients (45.4%) exhibited gastric wall edema on CT.
• Significant differences in PV/LV, fibrinogen, thrombin time, APTT, and albumin were found between edema and non-edema groups.
• Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was identified as a significant negative predictor of gastric wall edema (P=0.003).

Conclusions:

• Gastric wall edema is a primary CT finding in COVID-19 patients with GI symptoms.
• Gastric wall edema is associated with shorter APTT, severe pneumonia, and potentially longer hospitalization.
• Early intervention for patients with CT-detected gastric wall edema may improve digestive function and enhance immune response.