Vascular Changes Detected With Thoracic CT in Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Might Be Significant Determinants for Accurate Diagnosis and Optimal Patient Management
Salah D. Qanadli, Catherine Beigelman‐Aubry, David C. Rotzinger
Abstract
ManagementWe read with great interest the systematic review of imaging findings for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) recently published by Salehi et al. [1].The authors provide a structured analysis of the radiology literature related to COVID-19 and summarize the manifestations of the disease on CT.We found the reported high-resolution CT findings helpful to diagnose COVID-19 pneumonia, including typical and frequent features of parenchymal changes (predominantly peripheral multifocal ground-glass opacification, interlobular septal thickening, bronchiectasis, or pleural thickening) and less frequent findings (cavitation, halo sign, pleural or pericardial effusion, lymphadenopathy, or pneumothorax).Vascular abnormalities were not discussed as part of the CT characteristics in their review.Even though knowledge about COVID-19 pneumonia has increased rapidly, considering the recent literature, it is essential to integrate vascular changes in the CT analysis.The first vascular sign has been referred to as "vascular thickening," "vascular enlargement," or "vascular congestion."Such abnormalities have been observed in early CT