Objectives
Chest CT has been widely used to screen and to evaluate the severity of COVID-19 disease in the early stages of infection without severe acute respiratory syndrome, but no prospective data ...are available to study the relationship between extent of lung damage and short-term mortality. The objective was to evaluate association between standardized simple visual lung damage CT score (vldCTs) at admission, which does not require any software, and 30-day mortality.
Methods
In a single-center prospective cohort of COVID-19 patients included during 4 weeks, the presence and extent of ground glass opacities(GGO), consolidation opacities, or both of them were visually assessed in each of the 5 lung lobes (score from 0 to 4 per lobe depending on the percentage and out of 20 per patient = vldCTs) after the first chest CT performed to detect COVID-19 pneumonia.
Results
Among 210 confirmed COVID-19 patients, the number of survivors and non-survivors was 162 (77%) and 48 (23%), respectively at 30 days. vldCTs was significantly higher in non-survivors, and the AUC of vldCTs to distinguish survivors and non-survivors was 0.72 (95%CI 0.628–0.807,
p
< 0.001); the best cut-off vldCTs value was 7. During follow-up, significant differences in discharges and 30-day mortality were observed between patients with vldCTs ≥ 7 versus vldCTs < 7: (98 85.2% vs 49 51.6%;
p
< 0.001 and 36 37.9% vs 12 12.4%;
p
< 0.001, respectively. The 30-day mortality increased if vldCTs ≥ 7 (HR, 3.16 (1.50–6.43);
p
= 0.001), independent of age, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation levels, and comorbidities at admission.
Conclusions
By using chest CT in COVID-19 patients, extensive lung damage can be visually assessed with a score related to 30-day mortality independent of conventional risk factors of the disease.
Key Points
• In non-selected COVID-19 patients included prospectively during 4 weeks, the extent of ground glass opacities(GGO) and consolidation opacities evaluated by a simple visual score was related to 30-day mortality independent of age, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation levels, comorbidities, and hs-troponin I level at admission.
• This severity score should be incorporated into risk stratification algorithms and in structured chest CT reports requiring a standardized reading by radiologists in case of COVID-19.
Machine learning offers great opportunities to streamline and improve clinical care from the perspective of cardiac imagers, patients, and the industry and is a very active scientific research field. ...In light of these advances, the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR), a non-profit medical society dedicated to advancing cardiovascular radiology, has assembled a position statement regarding the use of machine learning (ML) in cardiovascular imaging. The purpose of this statement is to provide guidance on requirements for successful development and implementation of ML applications in cardiovascular imaging. In particular, recommendations on how to adequately design ML studies and how to report and interpret their results are provided. Finally, we identify opportunities and challenges ahead. While the focus of this position statement is ML development in cardiovascular imaging, most considerations are relevant to ML in radiology in general.
Key Points
• Development and clinical implementation of machine learning in cardiovascular imaging is a multidisciplinary pursuit.
• Based on existing study quality standard frameworks such as SPIRIT and STARD, we propose a list of quality criteria for ML studies in radiology.
• The cardiovascular imaging research community should strive for the compilation of multicenter datasets for the development, evaluation, and benchmarking of ML algorithms.
Objectives
In the ascending aorta, calcification density was independently and inversely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction. Until now, the density of thoracic aorta calcium ...(TAC) was estimated as the Agatston score divided by the calcium area (D
AG
). We thought to analyze TAC density in a full Hounsfield unit (HU) range and to study its association with TAC volume, traditional risk factors, and CVD events.
Methods
Non-enhanced CT images of 1426 patients at intermediate risk were retrospectively reviewed. A calcium density score was estimated as the average of the maximum HU attenuation in all calcified plaques of the entire thoracic aorta (D
AV
).
Results
During a mean 4.0 years follow-up, there were 26 events for a total of 674 patients with TAC > 0. TAC volume and D
AV
were positively correlated (
R
= 0.72). The median D
AV
value was 457 HU (IQ 323–603 HU) and was exponentially related to D
AG
(
R
= 0.86). D
AV
was inversely associated with systolic pressure (
p
< 0.05), pulse pressure (
p
< 0.01), hypertension (
p
< 0.05), and 10-year FRS (
p
< 0.001) after adjusting for TAC volume. When TAC volume and D
AV
were included in a logistic model, a significant improvement was shown in CVD risk estimation beyond coronary artery calcium (CAC) (AUC = 0.768 vs 0.814,
p
< 0.05). In multivariable Cox models, TAC volume and D
AV
showed an independent association with CVD.
Conclusions
In intermediate risk patients, TAC density was inversely associated with several risk factors after adjustment for TAC volume. A significant improvement was observed over CAC when TAC volume and density were added into the risk prediction model.
Key Points
• Calcifications in the aorta can be non-invasively assessed using CT images
• A higher calcium score is associated with a higher cardiovascular risk
• Measuring the calcifications size and the density separately can improve the risk prediction
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a stress-induced cardiovascular disease with symptoms comparable to those of an acute coronary syndrome but without coronary obstruction. Takotsubo was initially ...considered spontaneously reversible, but epidemiological studies revealed significant long-term morbidity and mortality, the reason for which is unknown. Here, we show in a female rodent model that a single pharmacological challenge creates a stress-induced cardiomyopathy similar to Takotsubo. The acute response involves changes in blood and tissue biomarkers and in cardiac in vivo imaging acquired with ultrasound, magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography. Longitudinal follow up using in vivo imaging, histochemistry, protein and proteomics analyses evidences a continued metabolic reprogramming of the heart towards metabolic malfunction, eventually leading to irreversible damage in cardiac function and structure. The results combat the supposed reversibility of Takotsubo, point to dysregulation of glucose metabolic pathways as a main cause of long-term cardiac disease and support early therapeutic management of Takotsubo.
Objectives
To describe CT features of lung involvement in patients with vascular Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (vEDS), a rare genetic condition caused by pathogenic variants within the
COL3A1
gene, ...characterized by recurrent arterial, digestive, and pulmonary events.
Material and methods
All consecutive vEDS patients referred to the national tertiary referral center for vEDS, between 2004 and 2016, were included. Chest CT scans obtained during the initial vascular work-up were reviewed retrospectively by two chest radiologists for lung involvement. Five surgical samples underwent histologic examination.
Results
Among 136 enrolled patients (83 women, 53 men; mean age 37 years) with molecularly confirmed vEDS, 24 (17.6%) had a history of respiratory events: 17 with pneumothorax, 4 with hemothorax, and 3 with hemoptysis that required thoracic surgery in 11. CT scans detected lung parenchymal abnormalities in 78 (57.3%) patients: emphysema (mostly centrilobular and paraseptal) in 44 (32.3%), comparable for smokers and non-smokers; clusters of calcified small pulmonary nodules in 9 (6.6%); and cavitated nodules in 4 (2.9%). Histologic examination of surgical samples found arterial abnormalities, emphysema with alveolar ruptures in 3, accompanied by diffuse hemorrhage and increased hemosiderin resorption.
Conclusion
In vEDS patients, identification of lung parenchymal abnormalities is common on CT. The most frequently observed CT finding was emphysema suggesting alveolar wall rupture which might facilitate the diagnostic screening of the disease in asymptomatic carriers of a genetic
COL3A1
gene mutation. The prognostic value and evolution of these parenchymal abnormalities remain to be evaluated.
Key Points
•
Patients with vEDS can have lung parenchymal changes on top of or next to thoracal vascular abnormalities and that these changes can be present in asymptomatic cases.
•
The presence of these parenchymal changes is associated with a slightly higher incidence of respiratory events (although not statistically significant).
•
Identification of the described CT pattern by radiologists and chest physicians may facilitate diagnostic screening.
Background
Left atrium (LA) volumes and function are predictors of cardiovascular events. Because LA function cannot be assessed from cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the ...well‐established left ventricular tagging techniques, we hypothesized that adequate feature tracking (FT) applied to conventional cine MRI data could characterize LA function accurately.
Methods
We studied 10 young (28 ± 7 years) and 10 elderly (64 ± 6 years) healthy subjects, as well as 20 patients with moderate to severe aortic valve stenosis (AVS; 73 ± 15 years, effective aortic valve area: 0.67 ± 0.36 cm2). MRI cine two‐, three‐, and four‐chamber views were analyzed using a newly proposed FT method based on spatial correlation and endocardial detection resulting in: regional and global longitudinal strain and strain rate, radial motion fraction and relative velocity for the three LA motion phases including reservoir, conduit, and LA contraction.
Results
FT reliability was indicated by a good overlap between tracking results and manual LA endocardial borders, the low error for comparison against theoretical strains introduced in a synthetic phantom and the good inter‐observer reproducibility (coefficient of variation < 15%). While all LA functional parameters were significantly impaired in AVS patients (p < 0.04), subclinical age‐related variations induced a decreasing trend on all LA parameters but were significant only for radial conduit function parameters (p < 0.03). Finally, LA functional parameters characterized LA alteration in AVS with higher sensitivity than conventional LA volumetric parameters.
Conclusions
Left atrial FT is feasible on MRI cine images and its addition to conventional analysis tools might enhance the diagnosis value of MRI in many heart diseases. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015;42:379–389.
Importance of left atrial (LA) phasic function evaluation is increasingly recognized for its incremental value in terms of prognosis and risk stratification. LA phasic deformation in the pathway of ...normal aging has been characterized using echocardiographic speckle tracking. However, no data are available regarding age-related variations using feature-racking (FT) techniques from standard cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We studied 94 healthy adults (41 ± 14 yr, 47 women), who underwent MRI and Doppler echocardiography on the same day for left ventricular (LV) diastolic function evaluation. From cine MRI, longitudinal strain and strain rate, radial motion fraction, and radial relative velocity, respectively, corresponding to the reservoir, conduit, and LA contraction phases, were measured using dedicated FT software. Longitudinal strain and radial motion fraction decreased gradually and significantly with aging for both reservoir (r > 0.31, P < 0.003) and conduit (r > 0.54, P < 0.001) phases, whereas they remained unchanged during the LA contraction phase. Subsequently, the LA contraction-to-reservoir ratio increased significantly with age (r > 0.44, P < 0.001). Longitudinal strain rate and radial relative velocity significantly decreased with age (reservoir: r = 0.39, P < 0.001, conduit: r > 0.54, P < 0.001), and these associations tended to be stronger in women than in men. Finally, associations of LA functional indexes with age were stronger in individuals with lower transmitral early-to-atrial maximal velocity ratio and mitral annulus maximal longitudinal velocity, as well as higher transmitral early maximal-to-mitral annulus maximal longitudinal velocity ratio, highlighting the LV-LA interplay. Age-related changes in LA phasic function indexes were quantified by cine MRI images using a FT technique and were significantly related to age and LV diastolic function.
Abstract Background Coupling between left ventricle (LV) and left atrium (LA) plays a central role in the process of cardiac remodeling during aging and development of cardiac disease. The hydraulic ...force (HyF) is related to variation in size between LV and LA. The objectives of this study were to: (1) derive an estimate of left atrioventricular HyF using cine- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in healthy subjects with a wide age range, and (2) study its relationship with age and conventional diastolic function parameters, as estimated by reference echocardiography. Methods We studied 119 healthy volunteers (mean age 44 ± 17 years, 58 women) who underwent Doppler echocardiography and MRI on the same day. Conventional transmitral flow early (E) and late (A) LV filling peak velocities as well as mitral annulus diastolic longitudinal peak velocity (E’) were derived from echocardiography. MRI cine SSFP images in longitudinal two and four chamber views were acquired, and analyzed using feature tracking (FT) software. In addition to conventional LV and LA strain measurements, FT-derived LV and LA contours were further used to calculate chamber cross-sectional areas. HyF was approximated as the difference between the LV and LA maximal cross-sectional areas in the diastasis phase corresponding to the lowest LV-LA pressure gradient. Univariate and multivariate analyses while adjusting for appropriate variables were used to study the associations between HyF and age as well as diastolic function and strain indices. Results HyF decreased significantly with age (R²=0.34, p < 0.0001). In addition, HyF was significantly associated with conventional indices of diastolic function and LA strain: E/A: R²=0.24, p < 0.0001; E’: R²=0.24, p < 0.0001; E/E’: R²=0.12, p = 0.0004; LA conduit longitudinal strain: R²=0.27, p < 0.0001. In multivariate analysis, associations with E/A (R 2 = 0.39, p = 0.03) and LA conduit strain (R 2 = 0.37, p = 0.02) remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index. Conclusions HyF, estimated using FT contours, which are primarily used to quantify LV/LA strain on standard cardiac cine MRI, varied significantly with age in association with subclinical changes in ventricular filling. Its usefulness in cohorts of patients with left heart disease to detect LV-LA uncoupling remains to be evaluated.
The importance of aorta-ventricular coupling in cardiovascular disease is recognized but underestimated. The contribution of the age-related decline in ascending aortic function compared with ...characteristic impedance and total peripheral resistance on left ventricular function and remodeling is poorly studied. Our aim was to evaluate the relation of proximal aortic distensibility and impedance with left ventricular geometry and function in asymptomatic individuals. We prospectively studied 100 subjects (47 men, 53 women, age: 20-84 yr). Aortic strain, distensibility, arch pulse wave velocity, characteristic impedance (
), total peripheral resistance, left ventricular (LV) volumes and mass, wall stress, and peak global circumferential myocardial strain and strain rates were determined by MRI. Central pressures were measured from tonometry.
/
, an index of vascular-ventricular coupling, and LV wall stress were preserved across age- or aortic-stiffness-stratified groups. Static and pulsatile components of aortic load were differentially associated with age. Increased total vascular resistance was associated with decreased LV strain and increased concentric remodeling ratio of LV mass to end-diastolic volume (M/V ratio) in all individuals. In younger individuals (<45 yr), aortic distensibility was related to LV strain and concentric remodeling (M/V ratio), whereas
was related to LV strain and concentric remodeling (M/V ratio) in older individuals (>45 yr). Early age-related stiffening of the ascending aorta is a component of LV afterload subsequently associated with increased aortic impedance and alterations in LV geometry, namely concentric remodeling, decreased myocardial strain, and increased stroke work such that LV wall stress and arterial-ventricular coupling are preserved.
Local flow and deformation can both be assessed with high precision noninvasively in the ascending aorta using MRI. Combined with central pressure measurement, they provide distensibility and impedance and simultaneous reference assessment of left ventricular deformation and geometry, hence a comprehensive evaluation of arterial-ventricular coupling to study physiology and disease.
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