Pneumatosis Intestinalis in the Setting of COVID-19: A Single Center Case Series From New York

COVID-19-Associated Portal Vein Thrombosis Post-Cholecystitis

This case study describes a 45-year-old Caucasian male with a past medical history of obesity, hypertension, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, who in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, developed portal vein thrombosis (PVT) presenting as an acute abdomen after hospital discharge from a cholecystitis episode. PVT is a very infrequent thromboembolic condition, classically occurring in patients with systemic conditions such as cirrhosis, malignancy, pancreatitis, diverticulitis, autoimmunity, and thrombophilia. PVT can cause serious complications, such as intestinal infarction, or even death, if not promptly treated. Due to the limited number of reports in the literature describing PVT in the COVID-19 setting, its prevalence, natural history, mechanism, and precise clinical features remain unknown. Therefore, clinical suspicion should be high for PVT, in any COVID-19 patient who presents with abdominal pain or associated signs and symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of COVID-19-associated PVT causing extensive thrombosis in the portal vein and its right branch, occurring in the setting of early-stage cirrhosis after a preceding episode of cholecystitis.

Findings of Abdominal Imaging in Patients with COVID-19 - Part 1: Hollow Organs

Since COVID-19 has spread worldwide, the role of imaging for early detection of the disease has become more prominent. Abdominal symptoms in COVID-19 are common in addition to respiratory manifestations. This review collected the available data about abdominal computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography indications in hollow abdominal organs in patients with COVID-19 and their findings. Since abdominal imaging is less frequently used in COVID-19, there is limited information about the gastrointestinal findings. The most common indications for abdominal CT in patients with COVID-19 were abdominal pain and sepsis. Bowel wall thickening and fluid-filled colon were the most common findings in abdominal imaging. Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) was one of the COVID-19 presentations secondary to coagulation dysfunction. AMI manifests with sudden abdominal pain associated with high morbidity and mortality in admitted patients; therefore, CT angiography should be considered for early diagnosis of AMI. Ultrasonography is a practical modality because of its availability, safety, rapidity, and ability to be used at the bedside. Clinicians and radiologists should be alert to indications and findings of abdominal imaging modalities in COVID-19 to diagnose the disease and its potentially serious complications promptly.

Acute Mesenteric Ischemia in COVID-19 Patients

Acute mesenteric ischemia is a rare but extremely severe complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The present review aims to document the clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings, management, and outcomes of acute intestinal ischemia in COVID-19 patients. A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed and Web of Science with the terms “COVID-19” and “bowel ischemia” OR “intestinal ischemia” OR “mesenteric ischemia” OR “mesenteric thrombosis”. After duplication removal, a total of 36 articles were included, reporting data on a total of 89 patients, 63 being hospitalized at the moment of onset. Elevated D-dimers, leukocytosis, and C reactive protein (CRP) were present in most reported cases, and a contrast-enhanced CT exam confirms the vascular thromboembolism and offers important information about the bowel viability. There are distinct features of bowel ischemia in non-hospitalized vs. hospitalized COVID-19 patients, suggesting different pathological pathways. In ICU patients, the most frequently affected was the large bowel alone (56%) or in association with the small bowel (24%), with microvascular thrombosis. Surgery was necessary in 95.4% of cases. In the non-hospitalized group, the small bowel was involved in 80%, with splanchnic veins or arteries thromboembolism, and a favorable response to conservative anticoagulant therapy was reported in 38.4%. Mortality was 54.4% in the hospitalized group and 21.7% in the non-hospitalized group (p < 0.0001). Age over 60 years (p = 0.043) and the need for surgery (p = 0.019) were associated with the worst outcome. Understanding the mechanisms involved and risk factors may help adjust the thromboprophylaxis and fluid management in COVID-19 patients.