Imaging in Pulmonary Vascular Disease in COVID-19 [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Imaging Characteristics of Pulmonary Vascular Disease in COVID-19
IRAS ID
284089
Contact name
Jay Suntharalingam
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 26 days
Research summary
A high prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) has been documented among patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19: as high as 20% in some case series of patients admitted to ICU (Poissy et al.; AHA 2020).\n\nMany questions remain about the pathophysiology of the pulmonary vascular disease observed in patients with COVID-19, and how best to diagnose, manage and follow-up this cohort of patients. It is not clear why these patients experience an increased prevalence of PE, what ongoing burden of pulmonary vascular disease they will experience, or what proportion of these patients will develop longterm sequelae (such as pulmonary hypertension (PH)). \n\nWe hypothesise that computational modelling and machine learning techniques used on imaging obtained in these patients will give us useful insights into the pathophysiology involved, and will have a predictive value for clinical outcomes such as ongoing clot burden and the development of PH.\n\nWe further hypothesise that there may be parallels with the pathophysiology of pulmonary vascular disease in inflammatory conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma, and with chronic thrombo-embolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). \n\nWe therefore propose to explore the burden and imaging characteristics of pulmonary vascular disease and its complications in the patients admitted to NHS hospital trusts in the South West region (those covered by the Bath PH regional shared care service), and to compare this with a control cohort composed of non-COVID patients with pulmonary embolism, and patients with connective tissue disease with and without pulmonary embolism. \n\nSecondary analysis will explore comparisons between these groups in presenting features, subsequent investigation findings, management and patient outcomes, including sequelae such as pulmonary hypertension. \n\nNo additional tests or scans will be performed: data and images used in the course of the study will only be those which are obtained as part of routine clinical care, and will be identified retrospectively.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/HRA/2794
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion