COVID-19-associated cerebral microbleeds in the general population
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COVID-19-associated cerebral microbleeds in the general population. / Sagar, Malini V.; Ferrer, Neus R.; Mehdipour Ghazi, Mostafa; Klein, Kiril V.; Jimenez-Solem, Espen; Nielsen, Mads; Kruuse, Christina.
In: Brain Communications, Vol. 6, No. 3, fcae127, 2024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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T1 - COVID-19-associated cerebral microbleeds in the general population
AU - Sagar, Malini V.
AU - Ferrer, Neus R.
AU - Mehdipour Ghazi, Mostafa
AU - Klein, Kiril V.
AU - Jimenez-Solem, Espen
AU - Nielsen, Mads
AU - Kruuse, Christina
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Cerebral microbleeds are frequent incidental findings on brain MRI and have previously been shown to occur in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cohorts of critically ill patients. We aimed to determine the risk of having microbleeds on medically indicated brain MRI and compare non-hospitalized COVID-19-infected patients with non-infected controls. In this retrospective case-control study, we included patients over 18 years of age, having an MRI with a susceptibility-weighted sequence, between 1 January 2019 and 1 July 2021. Cases were identified based on a positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 and matched with three non-exposed controls, based on age, sex, body mass index and comorbidities. The number of cerebral microbleeds on each scan was determined using artificial intelligence. We included 73 cases and 219 matched non-exposed controls. COVID-19 was associated with significantly greater odds of having cerebral microbleeds on MRI [odds ratio 2.66 (1.23-5.76, 95% confidence interval)], increasingly so when patients with dementia and hospitalized patients were excluded. Our findings indicate that cerebral microbleeds may be associated with COVID-19 infections. This finding may add to the pathophysiological considerations of cerebral microbleeds and help explain cases of incidental cerebral microbleeds in patients with previous COVID-19.
AB - Cerebral microbleeds are frequent incidental findings on brain MRI and have previously been shown to occur in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cohorts of critically ill patients. We aimed to determine the risk of having microbleeds on medically indicated brain MRI and compare non-hospitalized COVID-19-infected patients with non-infected controls. In this retrospective case-control study, we included patients over 18 years of age, having an MRI with a susceptibility-weighted sequence, between 1 January 2019 and 1 July 2021. Cases were identified based on a positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 and matched with three non-exposed controls, based on age, sex, body mass index and comorbidities. The number of cerebral microbleeds on each scan was determined using artificial intelligence. We included 73 cases and 219 matched non-exposed controls. COVID-19 was associated with significantly greater odds of having cerebral microbleeds on MRI [odds ratio 2.66 (1.23-5.76, 95% confidence interval)], increasingly so when patients with dementia and hospitalized patients were excluded. Our findings indicate that cerebral microbleeds may be associated with COVID-19 infections. This finding may add to the pathophysiological considerations of cerebral microbleeds and help explain cases of incidental cerebral microbleeds in patients with previous COVID-19.
KW - cerebral microhaemorrhage
KW - coronavirus
KW - matched controls
KW - neuroimaging
KW - pandemic
U2 - 10.1093/braincomms/fcae127
DO - 10.1093/braincomms/fcae127
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38887702
AN - SCOPUS:85192755998
VL - 6
JO - Brain Communications
JF - Brain Communications
SN - 2632-1297
IS - 3
M1 - fcae127
ER -
ID: 392578528