Çınar Caner, Kocakaya Derya, Olgun Yıldızeli Sehnaz, Karakurt Sait
Pulmonology Department, Marmara University, Istanbul, TUR.
Pulmonology Department, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, TUR.
Cureus. 2023 Jun 1;15(6):e39825. doi: 10.7759/cureus.39825. eCollection 2023 Jun.
Background A wide variety of radiological imaging findings, especially CT findings, have been reported in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia during the pandemic surge. Generally, on control chest imaging, individuals who have been cured of the disease usually show complete remission; however, in severe cases, residual pulmonary fibrosis, other abnormalities, and, rarely, lung cavitation can be observed. In this retrospective descriptive study, we aimed to describe the clinical, radiological, and laboratory characteristics of patients who developed lung cavitation in the course of SARS-CoV-2 disease recovery. Methodology Over a period of five months from March 1, 2021, to August 1, 2021, 15 consecutive patients who developed cavitary lesions on chest CT during the course of recovery from COVID-19 were recruited as the study population. All patients had a history of a SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed with a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction test. Patients who already had cavitary lesions in chest CT during the start of COVID-19 symptoms were excluded. Results In this study, 14 patients were male (93.3%). The only female patient was the only severely obese patient in the study population, with a body mass index was 40.4 kg/m. The median (range) age of the patient population was 61 (42-79) years. Eight patients (53.3%) required intensive care unit admission during the hospitalization period. Three patients who required intensive care unit were intubated and needed invasive mechanical ventilation. Two patients died during hospitalization. Conclusions Lung cavitation remains a rare occurrence in the course of COVID-19. Bronchoscopic evaluation and scanning for pulmonary embolism should be done in appropriate patients to determine secondary reasons for cavitation. Although this descriptive study showed that cavitary lesions can develop in patients with severe disease, more comprehensive studies with a control group are needed to reach a definitive conclusion.
背景 在新冠疫情高峰期，新冠肺炎患者出现了各种各样的放射影像学表现，尤其是CT表现。一般来说，在胸部影像学检查中，已治愈的患者通常显示完全缓解；然而，在严重病例中，可观察到残留肺纤维化、其他异常，以及罕见的肺空洞形成。在这项回顾性描述性研究中，我们旨在描述在新冠病毒疾病恢复过程中出现肺空洞的患者的临床、放射学和实验室特征。
方法 从2021年3月1日至2021年8月1日的五个月期间，连续招募了15例在新冠病毒感染康复过程中胸部CT出现空洞性病变的患者作为研究对象。所有患者均有实时聚合酶链反应检测呈阳性确诊的新冠病毒感染史。排除在新冠病毒感染症状开始时胸部CT就已存在空洞性病变的患者。
结果 在本研究中，14例患者为男性（93.3%）。唯一的女性患者是研究对象中唯一的重度肥胖患者，体重指数为40.4kg/m²。患者群体的年龄中位数（范围）为61（42-79）岁。8例患者（53.3%）在住院期间需要入住重症监护病房。3例需要重症监护的患者进行了气管插管，需要有创机械通气。2例患者在住院期间死亡。
结论 肺空洞在新冠病毒感染过程中仍然罕见。应对合适的患者进行支气管镜评估和肺栓塞扫描，以确定空洞形成的继发原因。尽管这项描述性研究表明重症患者可能出现空洞性病变，但需要进行更全面的有对照组的研究才能得出明确结论。
