Imaging shows significant lung injury in kids with long COVID – University of Minnesota Twin Cities

MyndziakVideo/iStock Children and teens with long COVID have significant lung abnormalities detected with an advanced form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), called free-breathing phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI. The findings were published yesterday in Radiology.Though chest scans are used to diagnose and monitor lung function of adults with long COVID, they are less commonly used on children with persistent symptoms after COVID-19, which is also called post-COVID condition (PCC). Lung perfusion, or how blood flows in and out of the lungs, can thus be hard to detect in pediatric patients. “Because of radiation exposure and the necessity for intravenous contrast agent, CT [computed tomography] is not used as a standard diagnostic tool in children suspected of having PCC,” the authors wrote. “Instead, pulmonary function tests and echocardiography, along with a comprehensive review of medical history, are performed to rule out pulmonary and cardiac differential diagnoses. However, these examinations frequently show normal lung and cardiac function in symptomatic patients, complicating the diagnostic process.”PREFUL MRI, however, is a contrast agent–free and radiation-free imaging modality that may be more suitable for children.In this study, 54 participants (27 with long COVID and 27 without) underwent PREFUL from April 2022 to April 2023. The imaging assessed regional ventilation (oxygen flow), flow-volume loop correlation metric (FVL-CM), quantified perfusion (blood flow), ventilation and perfusion defect percentages, and ventilation-perfusion ratios.The median age of participants was 15 years. The PREFUL results showed that kids with long COVID had lung injuries that correlated to specific long-COVID symptoms and overall loss of blood flow in the lungs. In participants with long COVID, greater lung perfusion correlated with increased chronic fatigue severity. In addition, higher ventilation-perfusion mismatch correlated with increased heart rate.”Our research provides the first comprehensive evidence of measurable regional lung perfusion abnormalities in pediatric post-COVID-19 condition using radiation-free, contrast-free lung imaging,” said Gesa H. Pöhler, MD, a senior physician at the Hannover Medical School in Germany and first author of the study, in a news release from the Radiological Society of North America, which publishes the journal. The authors said PREFUL could also be used on long-COVID patients to determine how or if they are improving. Quantitative lung MRI establishes a potential imaging biomarker profiling and helps to enable disease severity follow-up for this complex condition in the future.”Quantitative lung MRI establishes a potential imaging biomarker profiling and helps to enable disease severity follow-up for this complex condition in the future,” Pöhler said.The authors concluded, “Further investigations should prioritize multicenter longitudinal studies with larger cohorts to validate these findings and evaluate the progression of lung abnormalities at various stages after COVID-19 infection.”Also, Canada’s vaccine advisers issue preliminary guidance on use of the vaccine in high-risk groups.HHS indicated it will keep the tests in the federal stockpile until they expire.New Mexico reported more cases in an adjacent county, with a few new confirmations from Texas in the community around Dallam and Hartley counties.The county is in southwestern Indiana, on the border with Illinois and Kentucky, both of which are CWD-positive.The latest update includes a case from Lubbock County, pushing the number of affected counties to 5.The mass firings have hit health professionals at the CDC, FDA, NIH, and other agencies.The mutation doesn’t appear to reduce viral fitness, as evidenced by its rapid spread, the authors say.In the first of the 2 outbreaks, affected children had contact with bats. Further investigations are under way for both events.Pfizer’s initial clinical trials on the drug were conducted on unvaccinated adults.The CDC says it does not anticipate posting any more updates on US respiratory disease activity this season.Help make CIDRAP’s vital work possibleCIDRAP – Center for Infectious Disease Research & PolicyResearch and Innovation Office, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MNEmail us© 2025 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights Reserved.The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employerResearch and Innovation Office |   Contact U of M  |  Privacy PolicyNewsletter subscribe

Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/imaging-shows-significant-lung-injury-kids-long-covid