PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - E. Lin
AU  - J.E. Lantos
AU  - S.B. Strauss
AU  - C.D. Phillips
AU  - T.R. Campion, Jr.
AU  - B.B. Navi
AU  - N.S. Parikh
AU  - A.E. Merkler
AU  - S. Mir
AU  - C. Zhang
AU  - H. Kamel
AU  - M. Cusick
AU  - P. Goyal
AU  - A. Gupta
TI  - Brain Imaging of Patients with COVID-19: Findings at an Academic Institution during the Height of the Outbreak in New York City
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A6793
DP  - 2020 Nov 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 2001--2008
VI  - 41
IP  - 11
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/41/11/2001.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/41/11/2001.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2020 Nov 01; 41
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A large spectrum of neurologic disease has been reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Our aim was to investigate the yield of neuroimaging in patients with COVID-19 undergoing CT or MR imaging of the brain and to describe associated imaging findings.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study involving 2054 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 presenting to 2 hospitals in New York City between March 4 and May 9, 2020, of whom 278 (14%) underwent either CT or MR imaging of the brain. All images initially received a formal interpretation from a neuroradiologist within the institution and were subsequently reviewed by 2 neuroradiologists in consensus, with disputes resolved by a third neuroradiologist.RESULTS: The median age of these patients was 64 years (interquartile range, 50–75 years), and 43% were women. Among imaged patients, 58 (21%) demonstrated acute or subacute neuroimaging findings, the most common including cerebral infarctions (11%), parenchymal hematomas (3.6%), and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (1.1%). Among the 51 patients with MR imaging examinations, 26 (51%) demonstrated acute or subacute findings; notable findings included 6 cases of cranial nerve abnormalities (including 4 patients with olfactory bulb abnormalities) and 3 patients with a microhemorrhage pattern compatible with critical illness–associated microbleeds.CONCLUSIONS: Our experience confirms the wide range of neurologic imaging findings in patients with COVID-19 and suggests the need for further studies to optimize management for these patients.ACE2angiotensin converting enzyme 2COVID-19coronavirus disease 2019MFSMiller Fisher syndromePRESposterior reversible encephalopathy syndromeSARS-CoV-2Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2