Objective: To determine if there was an increase in the rate of cases presenting with rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) to a tertiary care center during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the characteristics of the presenting cases.Methods: Retrospective observational study reviewing ROCM cases presenting from March 25 until September 25, 2020. Cases fulfilling the clinical, radiological, and pathological/microbiological criteria for diagnosis with ROCM were included. The number of cases presenting during the designated interval, their COVID-19 status, comorbidities, and clinical presentation were analyzed. The number of cases during the corresponding interval in the previous 3 years was used as reference to detect if there was a recent spike.Results: Of the 12 ROCM cases identified, 5 had a concurrent positive reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) test result for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), 1 had a prior positive result, and 6 did not have concurrent nor prior positive test results. Nine of the 12 cases had poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, and 2 cases had a hematological malignancy. All cases had orbital invasion, and eight cases had cerebral invasion. The number of cases identified during the interval is much higher than the numbers presenting in the prior 3 years during equivalent intervals (range, one to two cases) than those reported in the literature in different settings in the pre-pandemic era.Conclusions: There is an increased rate of ROCM cases presenting to our center during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a preliminary report, and further studies are needed to corroborate the findings and explain possible underlying links.
Background: The incidence of devastating opportunistic coinfections in patients with COVID-19 infection, their imaging features and their morbidity and mortality consequences need to be unraveled. Methods: This is a case series presenting the radiologic features and clinical presentation of acute invasive fungal rhino-orbital-cerebral sinusitis (AIFS) in eight hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Results: Our patient cohort presented with symptoms of the invasive fungal disease within 12-35 days from their initial presentation with COVID-19 infection. The cross-sectional imaging features of AIFS associated with COVID-19 infection do not differ from those reported in the literature for AIFS associated with other risk factors, yet our patients had features of aggressive late-stage forms with high morbidity and mortality rate. Conclusion: AIFS is a possible encounter in patients with COVID-19 patients and radiologists should be familiar with its imaging features.
Background: To evaluate the inter-and intrareader agreement and reproducibility of the NI-RADS scoring system and lexicon with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CEMRI). Methods: This retrospective study included 97 CECT and CEMRI scans from 58 treated cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) after the exclusion of head and neck cancers (HNCs) other than SCC and noncontrast and poor quality CT and MRI scans, with a total of 111 primary targets and 124 lymph node (LN) targets. Two experienced readers independently scored the likelihood of residual/recurrence for these targets based on the NI-RADS criteria and filled in report templates for NI-RADS lexicon diagnostic features. Inter-and intraobserver reproducibility was assessed with Cohen's kappa, and the percent agreement was calculated. Results: Almost perfect interreader agreement was found for the final NI-RADS category of the primary lesions and LNs, with K = 0.808 and 0.806, respectively. Better agreement was found for CT than for MRI (K = 0.843 and 0.77, respectively, P value 0.001). There was almost perfect agreement for excluding tissue enhancement (K = 0.826, 95% CI = 0.658-0.993, P value 0.001), with a percent agreement of 96.4%, and substantial agreement for discrete nodular and diffuse mucosal enhancement (K = 0.826, 95% CI = 0.658-0.993, P value 0.001), with a percent agreement of 96.4%. There was fair agreement for focal mucosal nonmass and deep ill-defined enhancement. The intrareader agreement was almost perfect for most of the rated features (K ranging from 0.802 to 1), with the exception of enlarging discrete nodule/mass and focal mucosal nonmass-like enhancement, which had substantial intraobserver agreement (K ranging from 0.768 to 0.786). Conclusion: The individual features of NI-RADS show variable degrees of confidence; however, the overall NI-RADS category was not significantly affected.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:The current Neck Imaging Reporting and Data System (NI-RADS) criteria were designed for contrastenhanced CT with or without PET. Prior studies have revealed the capability of DWI and T2 signal intensity in distinguishing locoregional tumor residual and recurrence from posttreatment benign findings in head and neck cancers. We aimed to propose MR imaging NI-RADS criteria by adding diffusion criteria and T2 signal intensity to the American College of Radiology NI-RADS template. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This retrospective study included 69 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who underwent posttreatment contrast-enhanced MRI imaging surveillance using a 1.5T scanner. The scans were interpreted by 2 neuroradiologists. Image analysis assessed the primary tumor site using the current American College of Radiology NI-RADS morphologic lexicon (mainly designed for contrast-enhanced CT with or without PET). NI-RADS rescoring was then performed based on our proposed criteria using T2 signal and diffusion features. The reference standard was a defined set of criteria, including clinical and imaging follow-up and pathologic assessment.RESULTS: Imaging assessment of treated HNSCC at the primary tumor site using T2 signal intensity and diffusion features as modifying rules to NI-RADS showed higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy (92.3%, 90.7%, 85.7%, 95.1%, and 91.3%, respectively) compared with the current NI-RADS lexicon alone (84.6%, 81.4%, 73.3%, 89.8%, and 82.6%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS:The addition of diffusion features and T2 signal to the American College of Radiology NI-RADS criteria for the primary tumor site enhances the specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and NI-RADS accuracy.
Background The neck imaging reporting and data system (NI-RADS) is a structured reporting algorithm linked with further patient management recommendations. This study was conducted to assess the overall and time point predictive value of the NI-RADS in laryngeal and oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CEMRI) and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT). Results The rate of tumor recurrence was statistically different among the NI-RADS 1-3 categories with recurrence trend for higher NI-RADS scores. The overall negative predictive value (NPV) of the NI-RADS 1 and 2 were 94.3%, 74.3% respectively, and the positive predictive value (PPV) of the NI-RADS 3 was 80.8%. The overall recurrence rate of NI-RADS 3 was higher in oral cavity SCC (87.5%) compared to the laryngeal SCC (70%). The PPV of overall NI-RADS 3 in the follow-up scans (77.8%) was higher than in the first scan (70.6%). The odd ratio of tumor recurrence in NI-RADS 3 primary lesion was 19.6. Conclusion The predictive value of NI-RADS was significantly different among its categories. Increasing NI-RADS score is associated with increased recurrence among the treated laryngeal and oral cavity SCC. The morphological and enhancement lexicon features equally assign the NI-RADS 3 score.
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