Purpose
To measure the degree of fatty liver using non-contrast enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) and investigate its relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adult patients.
Methods
This retrospective study included consecutive patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and subsequently underwent non-contrast enhanced chest CT between October 10 and December 10, 2020. Hepatic attenuation values were measured from Couinaud segments 2, 4, and 8 based on the CT images and the relationships between these values and the Pneumonia Severity Score (PSS), requirement of hospitalization, and the length of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stay were analyzed.
Results
The study included 414 patients (182 were female, 43.96%), among whom 106 (25.6%) were diagnosed with hepatosteatosis (HS). In the patients with HS, the PSS scores were higher (10.8 ± 4.96 vs. 8.07 ± 5.12; p < 0.001), and 69 (65%) received inpatient care. Moreover, the number of HS patients who received inpatient care was 1.99 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26–3.15, p < 0.003) times higher than that of the non-HS patients. No significant difference was found between the HS and non-HS patients with regard to the length of hospital or ICU stay.
Conclusion
HS can be easily evaluated using non-contrast enhanced chest CT in COVID-19 patients and can be used as a prognostic marker to determine the requirement of hospitalization.
The study protocol was approved by the Adiyaman Training and Research Hospital Ethics Committee (2020/9-12). All procedures in this study involving human participants were performed in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments.
Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and troponin I levels in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism. Method: The first emergency department admission data of 70 patients hospitalized in the Chest Diseases Department between January 2016 and December 2018 with the diagnosis of non-massive and sub-massive pulmonary thromboembolism were retrospectively reviewed. Data concerning complete blood count, levels of d-dimer, and troponin I, thorax computed tomography angiography and bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasonography were obtained. Results: The mean age of the patients was 54.1±16.5 years. The female/male ratio was 32 (45.7%) / 38 (54.3%). Troponin I values were 0.027±0.038 ng/mL, and 0.062±0.143 ng/mL in patients with filling defects in the unilateral, and bilateral pulmonary arteries, in thoracic computed tomography angiography respectively. Troponin I elevation was detected in 2 of 25 patients with unilateral, and in 15 of 45 patients with bilateral filling defects. The mean neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios were 4.01±2.51 in patients with unilateral, and 4.73±5.81 in patients with bilateral filling defects. There was no correlation between troponin 1 and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio. Conclusion: Mean values for troponin 1 levels were higher in pulmonary thromboembolism patients with bilateral pulmonary artery filling defects when compared with those with unilateral pulmonary artery filling defects. However, there was no significant relationship between neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and troponin I positivity in non-massive and sub-massive pulmonary thromboembolism patients.
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