Abstract
Myalgia is a previously reported symptom in patients with COVID-19 infection; however, the presence of paraspinal myositis has not been previously reported. We report MR imaging findings of the spine obtained in a cohort of 9 patients with COVID-19 infection who presented to our hospital between March 3, 2020 and May 6, 2020. We found that 7 of 9 COVID-19 patients (78%) who underwent MR imaging of the spine had MR imaging evidence of paraspinal myositis, characterized by intramuscular edema and/or enhancement. Five of these 7 patients had a prolonged hospital course (greater than 25 days). Our knowledge of the imaging manifestations of COVID-19 infection is expanding. It is important for clinicians>a to be aware of the relatively high frequency of paraspinal myositis in this small cohort of patients with COVID-19 infection.
Highlights
Myositis was defined as intramuscular edema manifested by T2 hyperintensity and/or enhancement within the paraspinal muscles which was present in the absence of, or disproportionate to the presence of minimal edema in the posterior subcutaneous soft tissues
Of the small cohort of patients with COVID-19 infection who underwent MR imaging at our institution for evaluation of the spine, 78% (7 of 9) of patients had intramuscular edema and imaging findings suggestive of myositis, and all cases of myositis were found in the lumbar spine
An additional consideration for these findings includes sequelae of a critical illness myopathy that has been previously described in up to 62% of intensive care unit patients who failed to be wean from the ventilator.[19,20]
Summary
The purpose of this study was to describe the imaging findings of suspected myositis in a small cohort of patients with COVID-19 infection undergoing MR imaging of the spine
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