Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology (May 2023)

Evaluation of abdominal computed tomography findings in patients with COVID-19: a multicenter study

  • Mehmet Ruhi Onur,
  • Yakup Özbay,
  • İlkay İdilman,
  • Ali Devrim Karaosmanoğlu,
  • Selma Uysal Ramadan,
  • Funda Barlık,
  • Sonay Aydın,
  • Hüseyin Odaman,
  • Canan Altay,
  • Işıl Başara Akın,
  • Oğuz Dicle,
  • Özgür Appak,
  • Başak Gülpınar,
  • Ayşe Erden,
  • Sezer Kula,
  • Ayşegül Gürsöy Çoruh,
  • Diğdem Kuru Öz,
  • Melahat Kul,
  • Çağlar Uzun,
  • Erdal Karavaş,
  • Akın Levent,
  • Hakan Artaş,
  • Hasan Eryeşil,
  • Onur Solmaz,
  • Türkkan Öztürk Kaygusuz,
  • Mustafa Faraşat,
  • Ahmet Burak Kale,
  • Fatih Düzgün,
  • Gökhan Pekindil,
  • F. Demir Apaydın,
  • Meltem Nass Duce,
  • Yüksel Balcı,
  • Kaan Esen,
  • Ayşegül Sağır Kahraman,
  • Leyla Karaca,
  • Zeynep Maraş Özdemir,
  • Bayram Kahraman,
  • Mesude Tosun,
  • Mehmet Selim Nural,
  • İlkay Çamlıdağ,
  • Mustafa Arda Onar,
  • Kaan Ballı,
  • Ezgi Güler,
  • Mustafa Harman,
  • Nevra Zehra Elmas,
  • Cansu Öztürk,
  • Özlem Güngör,
  • Duygu Herek,
  • Ahmet Baki Yağcı,
  • Cengiz Erol,
  • Mehmet Şeker,
  • İrem İşlek,
  • Yusuf Can,
  • Serdar Aslan,
  • M. Yasemin Karadeniz Bilgili,
  • Alper Göncüoğlu,
  • Hatice Keleş,
  • Pelin Zeynep Bekin Sarıkaya,
  • Barış Bakır,
  • Merve Gülbiz Dağoğlu Kartal,
  • Görkem Durak,
  • Gülşen Yücel Oğuzdoğan,
  • Fatih Alper,
  • Ahmet Yalçın,
  • Safiye Gürel,
  • Bircan Alan,
  • Elif Gündoğdu,
  • Nevin Aydın,
  • Ayşegül Cansu,
  • Ceyda Civan Kuş,
  • Elif Ofluoğlu Tuncer,
  • Ferhat Can Pişkin,
  • Hale Çolakoğlu Er,
  • Bumin Değirmenci,
  • Mustafa Nasuh Özmen,
  • Mecit Kantarcı,
  • Muşturay Karçaaltıncaba

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4274/dir.2022.221575
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 3
pp. 414 – 427

Abstract

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PURPOSETo evaluate the frequency of abdominal computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and interrogate the relationship between abdominal CT findings and patient demographic features, clinical findings, and laboratory test results as well as the CT atherosclerosis score in the abdominal aorta.METHODSThis study was designed as a multicenter retrospective study. The abdominal CT findings of 1.181 patients with positive abdominal symptoms from 26 tertiary medical centers with a positive polymerase chain-reaction test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 were reviewed. The frequency of ischemic and non-ischemic CT findings as well as the association between CT findings, clinical features, and abdominal aortic calcific atherosclerosis score (AA-CAS) were recorded.RESULTSIschemic and non-ischemic abdominal CT findings were detected in 240 (20.3%) and 328 (27.7%) patients, respectively. In 147 patients (12.4%), intra-abdominal malignancy was present. The most frequent ischemic abdominal CT findings were bowel wall thickening (n = 120; 10.2%) and perivascular infiltration (n = 40; 3.4%). As for non-ischemic findings, colitis (n = 91; 7.7%) and small bowel inflammation (n = 73; 6.2%) constituted the most frequent disease processes. The duration of hospital stay was found to be higher in patients with abdominal CT findings than in patients without any positive findings (13.8 ± 13 vs. 10.4 ± 12.8 days, P < 0.001). The frequency of abdominal CT findings was significantly higher in patients who did not survive the infection than in patients who were discharged after recovery (41.7% vs. 27.4%, P < 0.001). Increased AA-CAS was found to be associated with a higher risk of ischemic conditions in abdominal CT examinations.CONCLUSIONAbdominal symptoms in patients with COVID-19 are usually associated with positive CT findings. The presence of ischemic findings on CT correlates with poor COVID-19 outcomes. A high AA-CAS is associated with abdominal ischemic findings in patients with COVID-19.

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