Publication: Lung cavitation as a long-term imaging pattern of covid-19
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Date
2023-06-01
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Abstract
Background
A wide variety of radiological imaging findings, especially CT findings, have been reported in patients with
COVID-19 pneumonia during the pandemic surge. Generally, on control chest imaging, individuals who
have been cured of the disease usually show complete remission; however, in severe cases, residual
pulmonary fibrosis, other abnormalities, and, rarely, lung cavitation can be observed. In this retrospective
descriptive study, we aimed to describe the clinical, radiological, and laboratory characteristics of patients
who developed lung cavitation in the course of SARS-CoV-2 disease recovery.
Methodology
Over a period of five months from March 1, 2021, to August 1, 2021, 15 consecutive patients who developed
cavitary lesions on chest CT during the course of recovery from COVID-19 were recruited as the study
population. All patients had a history of a SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed with a positive real-time
polymerase chain reaction test. Patients who already had cavitary lesions in chest CT during the start of
COVID-19 symptoms were excluded.
Results
In this study, 14 patients were male (93.3%). The only female patient was the only severely obese patient in
the study population, with a body mass index was 40.4 kg/m2
. The median (range) age of the patient
population was 61 (42-79) years. Eight patients (53.3%) required intensive care unit admission during the
hospitalization period. Three patients who required intensive care unit were intubated and needed invasive
mechanical ventilation. Two patients died during hospitalization.
Conclusions
Lung cavitation remains a rare occurrence in the course of COVID-19. Bronchoscopic evaluation and
scanning for pulmonary embolism should be done in appropriate patients to determine secondary reasons
for cavitation. Although this descriptive study showed that cavitary lesions can develop in patients with
severe disease, more comprehensive studies with a control group are needed to reach a definitive conclusion.
Description
Keywords
long covid-19, post-covid-19, computerized tomography, lung cavitation, covid-19
Citation
Çınar C., Kocakaya D., Olgun Yıldızeli S., Karakurt S., "Lung Cavitation as a Long-Term Imaging Pattern of COVID-19.", Cureus, cilt.15, sa.6, 2023