Lesson by SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19): whole-body CT angiography detection of "relevant" and "other/incidental" systemic vascular findings

Objectives: Increasing evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection may lead to severe and multi-site vascular involvement. Our study aimed at assessing the frequency of vascular and extravascular events' distribution in a retrospective cohort of 42 COVID-19 patients.

Methods: Patients were evaluated by whole-body CT angiography between March 16 and April 30, 2020. Twenty-three out of the 42 patients evaluated were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Vascular and extravascular findings were categorized into "relevant" or "other/incidental," first referring to the need for immediate patient care and management. Student T-test, Mann-Whitney U test, or Fisher exact test was used to compare study groups, where appropriate.

Results: Relevant vascular events were recorded in 71.4% of cases (n = 30). Pulmonary embolism was the most frequent in both ICU and non-ICU cases (56.5% vs. 10.5%, p = 0.002). Ischemic infarctions at several sites such as the gut, spleen, liver, brain, and kidney were detected (n = 20), with multi-site involvement in some cases. Systemic venous thrombosis occurred in 30.9% of cases compared to 7.1% of systemic arterial events, the first being significantly higher in ICU patients (p = 0.002). Among incidental findings, small-sized splanchnic arterial aneurysms were reported in 21.4% of the study population, with no significant differences in ICU and non-ICU patients.

Conclusions: Vascular involvement is not negligible in COVID-19 and should be carefully investigated as it may significantly affect disease behavior and prognosis.

Key points: • Relevant vascular events were recorded in 71.4% of the study population, with pulmonary embolism being the most frequent event in ICU and non-ICU cases. • Apart from the lung, other organs such as the gut, spleen, liver, brain, and kidneys were involved with episodes of ischemic infarction. Systemic venous and arterial thrombosis occurred in 30.9% and 7.1% of cases, respectively, with venous events being significantly higher in ICU patients (p = 0.002). • Among incidental findings, small-sized splanchnic arterial aneurysms were reported in 21.4% of the whole population.