Thymic Hyperplasia and COVID-19 Pulmonary Sequelae: A Bicentric CT-Based Follow-Up Study-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Thymic Hyperplasia and COVID-19 Pulmonary Sequelae: A Bicentric CT-Based Follow-Up Study

Published:2024-05-05 Issue:9 Volume:14 Page:3930
ISSN:2076-3417
Container-title:Applied Sciences
language:en
Short-container-title:Applied Sciences

Author:

Cellina Michaela¹^ORCID,Cè Maurizio²^ORCID,Cozzi Andrea³^ORCID,Schiaffino Simone³,Fazzini Deborah⁴,Grossi Enzo⁵^ORCID,Oliva Giancarlo¹,Papa Sergio⁴,Alì Marco⁴⁶

Affiliation:

1. Unit of Radiology, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Piazzale Principessa Clotilde 3, 20121 Milan, Italy

2. Postgraduate School of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono, 7, 20122 Milan, Italy

3. Imaging Institute of Southern Switzerland (IIMSI), Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Via Tesserete 46, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland

4. Unit of Diagnostic Imaging and Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Centro Diagnostico Italiano, Via Saint Bon 20, 20147 Milan, Italy

5. Fondazione VSM di Villa Santa Maria, Via IV Novembre 15, 22038 Tavernerio, Italy

6. Bracco Imaging SpA, Via Caduti di Marcinelle, 20134 Milan, Italy

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the role of the thymus in influencing long-term outcomes of COVID-19 by comparing the thymic appearance in patients with and without COVID-19 pulmonary sequelae at chest computed tomography (CT). A total of 102 adult patients previously hospitalized for COVID-19 underwent a follow-up chest CT three months after discharge. Pulmonary sequelae and thymic appearance were independently assessed by two experienced radiologists. The thymus was detectable in 55/102 patients (54%), with only 7/55 (13%) having any kind of pulmonary sequelae, compared to 33 out of 47 (70%, p < 0.001) in patients without thymic visibility, as confirmed in age-stratified analysis and at logistic regression analysis, where thymic involution had a 9.3 odds ratio (95% CI 3.0–28.2, p < 0.001) for the development of pulmonary sequelae. These results support the hypothesis that thymic reactivation plays a protective role against adverse long-term outcomes of COVID-19.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/9/3930/pdf

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