4.7 Article

First report on clinical and radiological features of COVID-19 pneumonitis in a Caucasian population: Factors predicting fibrotic evolution

Journal

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Volume 99, Issue -, Pages 485-488

Publisher

ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.08.054

Keywords

Covid-19; Pneumonitis; Pulmonary fibrosis; Reversed halo sign

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Background: At the end of February, the Lombardy region (Northern Italy) was involved in the pandemic spread of the new COVID-19. We here summarize the clinical and radiological characteristics of 90 confirmed cases and analyze their role in predicting the evolution of fibrosis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and radiological data of 90 patients with COVID-19 pneumonitis. All subjects underwent an HRCT study on the day of admission and eight weeks later, and were treated with lopinavir + ritonavir (Kaletra) 400/100 mg two times a day or darunavir + ritonavir two times a day, and Hydroxychloroquine 200 mg two times a day. Pulmonary fibrosis was defined according to the Fleischner Society glossary of terms for thoracic imaging. Results: Twenty-three patients developed pulmonary fibrosis (25.5%): 15 were males, whose mean age was 75 +/- 15. The majority were active smokers (60.8%) and had comorbidities (78.2%), above all, hypertension (47.8%), and diabetes (34.7%). Interestingly, in our series of cases, the reversed halo sign is frequent (63%) and seems to be a typical COVID-19 pneumonitis pattern. The patients showing fibrosis had a higher grade of systemic inflammation (ESR and PCR) and appeared to have bone marrow inhibition with a significant reduction in platelets, leukocytes, and hemoglobin. Conclusions: To conclude, our data showed that the reversed halo sign associated with a ground-glass pattern may be a typical HRCT pattern of COVID-19 pneumonitis. The evolution to pulmonary fibrosis is frequent in older males and patients with comorbidities and bone marrow involvement. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.

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