Pulmonary imaging in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a series of 140 Latin American children

Abstract

Background The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which resulted in the worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020, has particularly affected Latin America. Objective The purpose of the study was to analyze the imaging findings of pulmonary COVID-19 in a large pediatric series. Materials and methods Children with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by either quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction from nasopharyngeal swabs or presence of circulating immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies and who underwent chest radiograph or CT or both were included in this retrospective multicenter study. Three pediatric radiologists independently reviewed radiographs and CTs to identify the presence, localization, distribution and extension of pulmonary lesions. Results We included 140 children (71 female; median age 6.3 years, interquartile range 1.6–12.1 years) in the study. Peribronchial thickening (93%), ground-glass opacities (79%) and vascular engorgement (63%) were the most frequent findings on 131 radiographs. Ground-glass opacities (91%), vascular engorgement (84%) and peribronchial thickening (72%) were the most frequent findings on 32 CTs. Peribronchial thickening (100%), ground-glass opacities (83%) and pulmonary vascular engorgement (79%) were common radiograph findings in asymptomatic children ( n =25). Ground-glass opacity and consolidation were significantly higher in children who needed intensive care admission or died (92% and 48%), in contrast with children with a favorable outcome (71% and 24%, respectively; P <0.05). Conclusion Asymptomatic children and those with mild symptoms of COVID-19 showed mainly peribronchial thickening, ground-glass opacities and pulmonary vascular engorgement on radiographs. Ground-glass opacity and consolidation were more common in children who required intensive care admission or died. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00247-021-05055-2.

Clinical Characteristics of Children With SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Hospital in Latin America

“…Studies that have evaluated radiological variables differ somehow. Investigations carried out in Latin America and Spain found that peribronchial thickening, ground-glass opacities, consolidation, and vascular thickening were frequent ( 39 , 40 ).…”

Pediatric Obesity—A Potential Risk Factor for Systemic Inflammatory Syndrome Associated to COVID-19, a Case Report

“…Viral sepsis caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection is a well-documented condition in adults, and the patients usually experience pulmonary, renal, hepatic, hematologic, and cardiac involvement, often with positive RT-PCR from respiratory swabs (21). Moreover, a recent study performed on Latin American children proved that in terms of lung impairment, ground-glass opacities and consolidations caused by this virus are commonly associated to severe forms requiring intensive care admission, and even death (22). Similarly, bacterial sepsis displays an increased risk for multiple organ failure in children (23).…”

Effect of lateral decubitus acquisition in accuracy and lung severity estimation of chest computed tomography in children with suspected COVID-19

“…(18,(31)(32)(33)(34) Slight to moderate inter-rater agreement regarding CT findings has also been reported in children. (35) However, This study has some limitations, such as retrospective design, small sample size and inclusion of only 2 independent raters. Further multi-center prospective studies with larger samples and a larger number of raters are warranted to confirm our findings.…”