MRI finds lung abnormalities in non-hospitalized long COVID patients

A special type of MRI found lung abnormalities in patients who had previously had COVID-19, even those who had not been hospitalized with the illness, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology.

"In a collaboration between the University of Oxford and the University of Sheffield, we have been able to identify abnormalities in the lungs of both hospitalized and non-hospitalized participants using a novel imaging technique, Hyperpolarized Xenon 129MRI, or Hp-XeMRI," said the study's senior author, Fergus Gleeson, M.B.B.S., from the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford and Department of Radiology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. "These abnormalities are not apparent on conventional imaging, and in some individuals were detected up to a year after their initial COVID-19 infection."

Beyond the acute respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 infection, which can result in severe illness , hospitalization and death, the medium and long‐term problems experienced by people following COVID‐19 can be considerable. Symptoms can persist months after initial infection. The presence of ongoing symptoms related to prior COVID-19 infection is known as post-COVID-19 condition, or long COVID. Although over 200 symptoms have been reported, the most common are breathlessness, fatigue and brain fog. Long COVID presents a global health burden, with many people unable to return to normal activities or employment months after becoming unwell.

Example CT, proton, proton and RBC:TP imaging from post-COVID-19 condition participants. The top row is a participant with RBC:TP = 0.49, the middle row is a participant with RBC:TP of 0.31, and the bottom row is a participant with RBC:TP = 0.24. Imaging showed little to no discernible damage on CT, and yet highly heterogeneous and low RBC:TP in the lungs of non-hospitalized post-COVID-19 condition participants. RBC:TP = Hyperpolarized 129Xenon MRI lung ratio of red blood cell spectral peak to tissue phase spectral peak. Credit: Radiological Society of North America Read more

Example CT, proton, proton and RBC:TP imaging from post-hospitalized participants. The top row is a participant with RBC:TP = 0.59, the middle row is a participant with RBC:TP of 0.31, and the bottom row is a participant with RBC:TP = 0.16. Imaging showed minimal damage on CT, and yet highly heterogeneous and low RBC:TP in the lungs of post-hospitalized participants. RBC:TP = Hyperpolarized 129Xenon MRI lung ratio of red blood cell spectral peak to tissue phase spectral peak. Credit: Radiological Society of North America Read more

3D render of full-scale airway network modeling analysis (FAN) (A), FAN modeling (B), and hyperpolarized Xenon imaging (C, D) in both non-hospitalized post-COVID-19 condition and post-hospitalized COVID-19 participants. Results from both the low-resolution and ventilation imaging are similar and did not correlate with clinical or dissolved phase imaging results. Credit: Radiological Society of North Ameria Read more