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Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases

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A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 29413

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Giorgio Treglia

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Guest Editor

1. Imaging Institute of Southern Switzerland, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
2. Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
Interests: meta-analysis; PET; nuclear medicine; systematic reviews; brain tumor imaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Andor W.J.M. Glaudemans

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Medical Imaging Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
Interests: infections; inflammatory diseases; PET/CT; imaging; (tumor)immunology; multimodality imaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medical imaging comprises a huge number of techniques including radiological examinations such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine techniques using different radiopharmaceuticals including scintigraphic methods (planar scintigraphy and SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET). Furthermore, hybrid modalities (SPECT/CT, PET/CT, PET/MRI) may provide morphological and functional data in the same session.

Infectious and inflammatory diseases include a large group of diseases with different etiology.

Infection is the invasion of a host organism by microorganisms such as viruses, prions, bacteria, and viroids, as well as larger organisms like parasites and fungal organisms. After invasion, these organisms may multiplicate and produce toxins. Hosts can fight infections using their immune system, usually producing inflammation.

Inflammation is part of the complex biological response by the organism to harmful stimuli such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is not a synonym for infection: we usually always have an inflammation associated with an infection, but we do not always have an infection if there is an inflammation.

Several imaging methods may allow for the early, noninvasive detection of infectious and inflammatory diseases; in particular, molecular imaging methods may be very useful for the measurement of cellular and molecular processes in living subjects related to infectious and inflammatory diseases.

This Special Issue will highlight the role of imaging methods in infectious and inflammatory diseases, in particular for diagnosis and the assessment of response to therapy. We encourage authors to submit both preclinical and clinical studies in the field. Clinical studies may include systematic reviews, retrospective studies, and prospective studies emphasizing the role and need of imaging techniques in infectious or inflammatory diseases.

Prof. Dr. Giorgio Treglia
Prof. Dr. Andor W.J.M. Glaudemans
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

imaging
infection
bacteria
fungi
viruses
inflammation
nuclear medicine
radiology
scintigraphy
PET
radiopharmaceuticals

Published Papers (11 papers)

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14 pages, 3743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automated CT Lung Density Analysis of Viral Pneumonia and Healthy Lungs Using Deep Learning-Based Segmentation, Histograms and HU Thresholds

by Andrej Romanov, Michael Bach, Shan Yang, Fabian C. Franzeck, Gregor Sommer, Constantin Anastasopoulos, Jens Bremerich, Bram Stieltjes, Thomas Weikert and Alexander Walter Sauter

Diagnostics 2021, 11(5), 738; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics11050738 - 21 Apr 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3153

Abstract

CT patterns of viral pneumonia are usually only qualitatively described in radiology reports. Artificial intelligence enables automated and reliable segmentation of lungs with chest CT. Based on this, the purpose of this study was to derive meaningful imaging biomarkers reflecting CT patterns of viral pneumonia and assess their potential to discriminate between healthy lungs and lungs with viral pneumonia. This study used non-enhanced and CT pulmonary angiograms (CTPAs) of healthy lungs and viral pneumonia (SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B) identified by radiology reports and RT-PCR results. After deep learning segmentation of the lungs, histogram-based and threshold-based analyses of lung attenuation were performed and compared. The derived imaging biomarkers were correlated with parameters of clinical and biochemical severity (modified WHO severity scale; c-reactive protein). For non-enhanced CTs (n = 526), all imaging biomarkers significantly differed between healthy lungs and lungs with viral pneumonia (all p < 0.001), a finding that was not reproduced for CTPAs (n = 504). Standard deviation (histogram-derived) and relative high attenuation area [600–0 HU] (HU-thresholding) differed most. The strongest correlation with disease severity was found for absolute high attenuation area [600–0 HU] (r = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.46–0.64). Deep-learning segmentation-based histogram and HU threshold analysis could be deployed in chest CT evaluation for the differentiating of healthy lungs from AP lungs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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13 pages, 1286 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Advantages of 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging over Modified Duke Criteria and Clinical Presumption in Patients with Challenging Suspicion of Infective Endocarditis

by Valentin Pretet, Cyrille Blondet, Yvon Ruch, Matias Martinez, Soraya El Ghannudi, Olivier Morel, Yves Hansmann, Thomas H. Schindler and Alessio Imperiale

Diagnostics 2021, 11(4), 720; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics11040720 - 18 Apr 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2645

Abstract

According to European Society of Cardiology guidelines (ESC2015) for infective endocarditis (IE) management, modified Duke criteria (mDC) are implemented with a degree of clinical suspicion degree, leading to grades such as “possible” or “rejected” IE despite a persisting high level of clinical suspicion. Herein, we evaluate the ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT diagnostic and therapeutic impact in IE suspicion, with emphasis on possible/rejected IE with a high clinical suspicion. Excluding cases of definite IE diagnosis, 53 patients who underwent ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT for IE suspicion were selected and afterwards classified according to both mDC (possible IE/Duke 1, rejected IE/Duke 0) and clinical suspicion degree (high and low IE suspicion). The final status regarding IE diagnosis (gold standard) was based on the multidisciplinary decision of the Endocarditis Team, including the ‘imaging specialist’. PET/CT images of the cardiac area were qualitatively interpreted and the intensity of each focus of extra-physiologic ¹⁸F-FDG uptake was evaluated by a maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) measurement. Extra-cardiac ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT pathological findings were considered to be a possible embolic event, a possible source of IE, or even a concomitant infection. Based on the Endocarditis Team consensus, final diagnosis of IE was retained in 19 (36%) patients and excluded in 34 (64%). With a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and global accuracy of 79%, 100%, 100%, 89%, and 92%, respectively, PET/CT performed significantly better than mDC (p = 0.003), clinical suspicion degree (p = 0.001), and a combination of both (p = 0.001) for IE diagnosis. In 41 patients with possible/rejected IE but high clinical suspicion, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and global accuracies were 78%, 100%, 100%, 85%, and 90%, respectively. Moreover, PET/CT contributed to patient management in 24 out of 53 (45%) cases. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT represents a valuable diagnostic tool that could be proposed for challenging IE cases with significant differences between mDC and clinical suspicion degree. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT allows a binary diagnosis (definite or rejected IE) by removing uncertain diagnostic situations, thus improving patient therapeutic management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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8 pages, 226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Chest Images between Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Influenza-Associated Pneumonia

by Si-Ho Kim, Yu Mi Wi, Sujin Lim, Kil-Tae Han and In-Gyu Bae

Diagnostics 2021, 11(2), 261; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics11020261 - 08 Feb 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1997

Abstract

Background: Concerns are arising about the simultaneous occurrence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the influenza epidemic, the so-called “twindemic”. In this study, we compared clinical characteristics and chest images from patients with COVID-19 and influenza. Methods: We conducted a case-control study of COVID-19 and age- and sex-matched influenza patients. Clinical characteristics and chest imaging findings between patients with COVID-19 and matched influenza patient controls were compared. Results: A total of 47 patients were enrolled in each group. Anosmia (14.9%) and ageusia (21.3%) were only observed in COVID-19 patients. There were 31 (66%) and 23 (48.9%) patients with COVID-19 and influenza who had pulmonary lesions confirmed by chest computed tomography (CT), respectively. The interval between symptom onset and pneumonia was significantly longer in patients with COVID-19. Round opacities were more common in images from COVID-19 patients (41.9% vs. 8.7%, p = 0.007), whereas pure consolidation (0% vs. 34.9%, p < 0.001) and pleural effusion (0% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.028) were more common in images from influenza patients. Notably, the difference in the number of involved pulmonary lobes observed on CT and pulmonary fields observed on radiographic images was significantly higher in COVID-19-associated pneumonia than that in influenza-associated pneumonia (2.32 ± 1.14 vs. 1.48 ± 0.99, p = 0.010). Conclusions: Chest images and thorough review of clinical findings could provide value for proper differential diagnoses of COVID-19 patients, but they are not sufficiently sensitive for initial diagnoses. In addition, chest radiography could underestimate COVID-19 lung involvement because of the lesion characteristics of COVID-19-associated pneumonia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

13 pages, 1638 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Added Value of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT in the Management of Invasive Fungal Infections

by Alfred O. Ankrah, Dina Creemers-Schild, Bart de Keizer, Hans C. Klein, Rudi A. J. O. Dierckx, Thomas C. Kwee, Lambert F. R. Span, Pim A. de Jong, Mike M. Sathekge and Andor W. J. M. Glaudemans

Diagnostics 2021, 11(1), 137; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics11010137 - 17 Jan 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2454

Abstract

Anatomy-based imaging methods are the usual imaging methods used in assessing invasive fungal infections (IFIs). [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT has also been used in the evaluation of IFIs. We assessed the added value of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT when added to the most frequently used anatomy-based studies in the evaluation of IFIs. The study was conducted in two University Medical Centers in the Netherlands. Reports of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT and anatomy-based imaging performed within two weeks of the [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT scan were retrieved, and the presence and sites of IFI lesions were documented for each procedure. We included 155 [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT scans performed in 73 patients. A total of 216 anatomy-based studies including 80 chest X-rays, 89 computed tomography studies, 14 magnetic resonance imaging studies, and 33 ultrasound imaging studies were studied. The anatomy-based studies were concordant with the [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT for 94.4% of the scans performed. [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT detected IFI lesions outside of the areas imaged by the anatomy-based studies in 48.6% of the scans. In 74% of the patients, [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT added value in the management of the IFIs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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13 pages, 1483 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clinical Use of Quantitative Analysis of Bone Scintigraphy to Assess the Involvement of Arthritis Diseases in Patients with Joint Symptoms

by Jeong Won Lee, Ki Jin Jung, Sang Mi Lee and Sung Hae Chang

Diagnostics 2020, 10(12), 1000; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics10121000 - 24 Nov 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2314

Abstract

We aimed to compare the diagnostic ability of quantitative analysis of bone scintigraphy with that of visual analysis for identifying arthritis disease involvement in patients with joint symptoms. We retrospectively included 93 patients with joint symptoms who underwent Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy for evaluating arthritis disease involvement. Bone scintigraphy images were visually and quantitatively analyzed using an in-house software by two reviewers. On quantitative analysis, joint uptake ratio was measured for 64 joints in 14 joints areas. The inter-rater agreement of visual and quantitative analyses was assessed, and diagnostic abilities were compared based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) values. Regarding visual analysis, there was a moderate degree of inter-rater agreement (kappa coefficient of 0.597), while there was a substantial inter-rater agreement (concordance correlation coefficient of 0.987) in the measurement of the joint uptake ratio. The comparisons of ROC curves for the total 5941 joints revealed that the joint uptake ratio had a significantly higher AUC value (0.789) to detect the affected joint than that of the visual analysis (p < 0.001). Quantitative analysis using joint uptake ratio showed substantial reproducibility and higher diagnostic ability to detect joints involving arthritis diseases than visual analysis on bone scintigraphy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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11 pages, 13330 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Radiological Markers of the Olfactory Cleft: Relations to Unilateral Orthonasal and Retronasal Olfactory Function

by David T. Liu, Ursula Schwarz-Nemec, Bertold Renner, Christian A. Mueller and Gerold Besser

Diagnostics 2020, 10(11), 989; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics10110989 - 23 Nov 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2333

Abstract

The opacification of the olfactory cleft (OC) has been associated with birhinal orthonasal olfaction in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The aim of this study was to determine the associations between monorhinal and birhinal orthonasal, and retronasal olfaction with radiological markers of the OC in a cohort of patients with CRS. Results were analyzed in a CRS-cohort including 13 patients with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) and 12 patients with non-eosinophilic CRS (non-eCRS). Monorhinal and birhinal orthonasal olfactory function, and OC-air volume were higher in non-eCRS compared CRSwNP. OC-opacification was also higher in CRSwNP compared to non-eCRS. In the entire CRS-cohort, those with higher OC-opacification showed significantly lower orthonasal and retronasal olfactory test results compared to those with lower OC-opacification across all three coronal planes. Similarly, higher unilateral OC-opacification was also associated with lower ipsilateral orthonasal olfactory function. Correlation analysis further revealed a positive correlation between monorhinal and birhinal orthonasal olfaction with ipsilateral and overall OC-air volume. Likewise, birhinal and monorhinal orthonasal, and retronasal olfactory test results correlated negatively with the overall and ipsilateral Lund-Mackay scores. Monorhinal and birhinal orthonasal, and retronasal olfactory function were lower in CRS patients with higher ipsilateral and overall OC-opacification compared to those with lower OC-opacification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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11 pages, 3966 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clinical and Radiological Analysis of Pyogenic Vertebral Osteomyelitis Immediately after Successful Antimicrobial Therapy: Considerations for Assessing Therapeutic Response

by Ikchan Jeon, Eunjung Kong, Dongwoo Yu and Cheol Pyo Hong

Diagnostics 2020, 10(11), 861; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics10110861 - 22 Oct 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2611

Abstract

Purpose: The clinical and radiological abnormal findings continue even after successful treatment in pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (PVO). We analyzed the clinical and radiological features of cured PVO based on ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (FDG-PET/MRI) and compared the radiological differences between FDG-PET and MRI for assessing therapeutic response in PVO. Methods: This study included 43 patients (28 men and 15 women) with lumbar PVO who had no recurrence after successful antimicrobial therapy. They were divided into two groups based on the location of maximum standardized FDG uptake value (SUV_max) of PVO lesion on FDG-PET/MRI when parenteral antibiotics were discontinued (31 in group A: Intervertebral structure; 12 in group B: Vertebral body and paravertebral muscle). The differences of clinical symptoms, hematological inflammatory indices, and radiological features were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The patients were treated with 42.28 ± 14.58 (21–89) days of parenteral antibiotics. There were significant differences in C-reactive protein (0.97 ± 1.10 vs. 0.51 ± 0.31 mg/dL, p = 0.041; normal range of CRP < 0.5), back pain (4.29 ± 1.13 vs. 3.50 ± 1.00, p = 0.040; visual analog scale), and SUV_max (4.34 ± 1.24 vs. 5.89 ± 1.57, p < 0.001) between the two groups. In the distribution pattern of PVO lesions, FDG-PET overall showed recovery pattern earlier than MRI did (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In cured PVO, the clinical features vary depending on the location of major structural damage of PVO lesion. The involvement of intervertebral structure is related with sustained back pain and elevation of CRP, and vertebral body/paravertebral muscle shows favorable clinical features despite advanced structural damages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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21 pages, 2517 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diagnostic Performance of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in Native Valve Endocarditis: Systematic Review and Bivariate Meta-Analysis

by Christel H. Kamani, Gilles Allenbach, Mario Jreige, Anna G. Pavon, Marie Meyer, Nathalie Testart, Maria Firsova, Victor Fernandes Vieira, Sarah Boughdad, Marie Nicod Lalonde, Niklaus Schaefer, Benoit Guery, Pierre Monney, John O. Prior and Giorgio Treglia

Diagnostics 2020, 10(10), 754; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics10100754 - 25 Sep 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2794

Abstract

Background: Infectious endocarditis is a life-threatening disease, requiring prompt and accurate diagnosis. The aim of this article is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature to estimate the performance of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) for the diagnosis of native valve endocarditis (NVE). Methods: Selected articles evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in patients with suspected NVE, resulting from a comprehensive literature search through the PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane library databases until April 2020, were included for the systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: Seven studies (351 episodes of suspected NVE) were included. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT yielded a pooled sensitivity of 36.3% and a pooled specificity of 99.1% for the diagnosis of NVE. The pooled positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 8.3, 0.6, and 15.3, respectively. The sensitivity increased using contemporary PET/CT device with state-of-the-art patient preparation as well as innovative image acquisitions or adding the results of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in a multimodality strategy. Conclusions: In our systematic review and meta-analysis, ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT yielded a poor pooled sensitivity with an otherwise excellent pooled specificity for the diagnosis of NVE; however, several factors may increase the sensitivity without affecting the specificity and these factors should be better evaluated in future studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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12 pages, 863 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relationship between ¹⁸F-FDG Uptake in the Oral Cavity, Recent Dental Treatments, and Oral Inflammation or Infection: A Retrospective Study of Patients with Suspected Endocarditis

by Geertruida W. Dijkstra, Andor W. J. M. Glaudemans, Paola A. Erba, Marjan Wouthuyzen-Bakker, Bhanu Sinha, David Vállez García, Luc W. M. van der Sluis and Riemer H. J. A. Slart

Diagnostics 2020, 10(9), 625; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics10090625 - 24 Aug 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3145

Abstract

[¹⁸F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT) has proven to be a useful diagnostic tool in patients with suspected infective endocarditis (IE), but is conflicting in relation to dental procedures. Questions: Is there a correlation between [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT findings, recent dental treatment, and an affected oral cavity? (2) Is there a correlation between infective endocarditis (IE), oral health status, and (extra)cardiac findings on [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT? Methods: This retrospective study included 52 patients. All [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT scans were examined visually by pattern recognition using a three-point scale and semi-quantified within the volume of interest (VOI) using SUV_max. Results: 19 patients were diagnosed with IE (group 1), 14 with possible IE (group 2), and 19 without IE based on the modified Duke criteria (group 3). No correlation was found between visual PET and SUV_max and sites of oral inflammation and infection. The visual PET scores and SUV_max were not significantly different between all groups. A significant difference in the SUV_max of the valve between all groups was observed. Conclusions: This study suggests that no correlation exists between the PET findings in the oral cavity and dental treatments or inflammation/infection. No correlation between IE, actual oral health status, and extra-cardiac findings was demonstrated. Additional research is needed to conclude whether [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT imaging is a reliable diagnostic modality for oral inflammation and infection sites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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5 pages, 1564 KiB

Open AccessInteresting Images

Listeria Monocytogenes Brain Abscesses in a Patient with Disseminated Non-Small Cellular Lung Cancer: MRI Findings

by Anders Lykkemark Simonsen, Nitesh Shekhrajka, Frederik Boëtius Hertz, Jannik Helweg-Larsen, Åse Bengård Andersen and Anne-Mette Lebech

Diagnostics 2021, 11(6), 1115; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics11061115 - 18 Jun 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2232

Abstract

Brain abscesses caused by Listeria monocytogenes (LM) are very rare and carry a high mortality risk. We present a patient with disseminated non-small cellular lung cancer (NSCLC) and multiple unusual LM brain abscesses. These abscesses have multiple elongated peripherally enhancing lesions in a [...] Read more.

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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8 pages, 1230 KiB

Open AccessStudy Protocol

Vascular Abnormalities Detected with Chest CT in COVID-19: Spectrum, Association with Parenchymal Lesions, Cardiac Changes, and Correlation with Clinical Severity (COVID-CAVA Study)

by Salah D. Qanadli, Alexander W. Sauter, Hatem Alkadhi, Andreas Christe, Pierre-Alexandre Poletti, Lukas Ebner and David C. Rotzinger

Diagnostics 2021, 11(4), 606; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/diagnostics11040606 - 29 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2445

Abstract

Although vascular abnormalities are thought to affect coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients’ outcomes, they have not been thoroughly characterized in large series of unselected patients. The Swiss national registry coronavirus-associated vascular abnormalities (CAVA) is a multicentric cohort of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection who underwent a clinically indicated chest computed tomography (CT) aiming to assess the prevalence, severity, distribution, and prognostic value of vascular and non-vascular-related CT findings. Clinical outcomes, stratified as outpatient treatment, inpatient without mechanical ventilation, inpatient with mechanical ventilation, or death, will be correlated with CT and biological markers. The main objective is to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular abnormalities–including pulmonary embolism (PE), cardiac morphology, and vascular congestion. Secondary objectives include the predictive value of cardiovascular abnormalities in terms of disease severity and fatal outcome and the association of lung inflammation with vascular abnormalities at the segmental level. New quantitative approaches derived from CT imaging are developed and evaluated in this study. Patients with and without vascular abnormalities will be compared, which is supposed to provide insights into the prognostic role and potential impact of such signs on treatment strategy. Results are expected to enable the development of an integrative score combining both clinical data and imaging findings to predict outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases)

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