ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A variety of neurological manifestations have been attributed to COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of neurological symptoms and neuroimaging findings in patients hospitalized in two Brazilian reference centers. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients who had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 presenting in two hospitals in Brazil between March 4 and July 7, 2020, who underwent brain imaging. RESULTS: We recorded 1,359 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Brain imaging was performed in 250 (18.4%) patients with neurological symptoms, and nine of them (3.6%) had acute or subacute ischemic stroke neuroimaging findings. Six of the nine patients initially presented with respiratory symptoms while the other three patients presented to the emergency room with acute stroke signs. CONCLUSIONS: We described the neuroimaging findings of patients infected with COVID-19 who presented with neurological symptoms in two major hospitals in Brazil. We reinforce the importance of being aware of cerebrovascular complications, both in severe hospitalized patients and in patients who present to the emergency room with acute neurological symptoms, even in the elderly.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Stroke , Aged , Brazil/epidemiology , Humans , Neuroimaging/methods , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Stroke/diagnostic imaging , Stroke/epidemiology , Stroke/etiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe chest computed tomography image findings in patients with COVID-19. METHODS: The chest computed tomography scans of 453 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 were collected at two tertiary care Brazilian hospitals. Demographics and clinical data were extracted from the electronic record medical system. RESULTS: The main chest computed tomography findings were ground-glass opacities (92.5%), consolidation (79.2%), crazy-paving pattern (23.9%), parenchymal bands (50%), septal thickening (43.5%), and inverted halo sign (3.5%). Of the 453 hospitalized patients, 136 (30%) died. In this group, ground-glass opacities (94.1%), consolidation (89.7%), septal thickening (58.1%), crazy-paving pattern (52.2%), and parenchymal bands (39.7%) were the most common imaging findings. CONCLUSIONS: In a dynamic disease with a broad clinical spectrum such as COVID-19, radiologists can cooperate in a better patient management. On wisely indicated chest computed tomography scans, the fast identification of poor prognosis findings could advise patient management through hospital care facilities and clinical team decisions.