Comparison of dark-field chest radiography and CT for the assessment of COVID-19 pneumonia

作者：Florian T. Gassert, Florian T. Gassert, Henriette Bast, Theresa Urban, Manuela Frank, Felix G. Gassert, Felix G. Gassert, Konstantin Willer, Rafael Schick, Bernhard Renger, Thomas Koehler, Alexandra Karrer, Andreas Sauter, Alexander A. Fingerle, Marcus R. Makowski, Franz Pfeiffer, Daniela Pfeiffer · 发表于：Frontiers in Radiology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fradi.2024.1487895 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques、Advanced X-ray and CT Imaging、Infrared Thermography in Medicine

Background Dark-field chest radiography allows the assessment of the structural integrity of the alveoli by exploiting the wave properties of x-rays. Purpose To compare the qualitative and quantitative features of dark-field chest radiography in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia with conventional CT imaging. Materials and methods In this prospective study conducted from May 2020 to December 2020, patients aged at least 18 years who underwent chest CT for clinically suspected COVID-19 infection were screened for participation. Inclusion criteria were a CO-RADS score ≥4, the ability to consent to the procedure and to stand upright without help. Participants were examined with a clinical dark-field chest radiography prototype. For comparison, a healthy control cohort of 40 subjects was evaluated. Using Spearman's correlation coefficient, correlation was tested between dark-field coefficient and CT-based COVID-19 index and visual total CT score as well as between the visual total dark-field score and the visual total CT score. Results A total of 98 participants [mean age 58 ± 14 (standard deviation) years; 59 men] were studied. The areas of signal intensity reduction observed in dark-field images showed a strong correlation with infiltrates identified on CT scans. The dark-field coefficient had a negative correlation with both the quantitative CT-based COVID-19 index ( r = −.34, p = .001) and the overall CT score used for visual grading of COVID-19 severity ( r = −.44, p < ...