High parasternal intercostal muscle thickening prior to intubation in COVID-19 infection

Abdallah Fayssoil; Robert Carlier; Nicolas Mansencal; Frédéric Lofaso; Djillali Annane

doi:10.1016/j.radcr.2021.12.037

High parasternal intercostal muscle thickening prior to intubation in COVID-19 infection

Radiol Case Rep. 2022 Mar;17(3):843-846. doi: 10.1016/j.radcr.2021.12.037. Epub 2022 Jan 6.

Authors

Abdallah Fayssoil^{1

2}, Robert Carlier³, Nicolas Mansencal², Frédéric Lofaso⁴, Djillali Annane⁵

Affiliations

¹ Raymond Poincaré Hospital, Echo Lab, APHP, Boulevard Raymond Poincaré, Garches, France.
² Department of Cardiology, Ambroise Paré Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Centre de référence des cardiomyopathies et des troubles du rythme cardiaque héréditaires ou rares, Université de Versailles-Saint Quentin (UVSQ), Boulogne, France.
³ Department of Radiology, APHP, Hôpitaux R. Poincaré-A Paré, DMU Smart Imaging, GH Université Paris-Saclay, Boulevard Raymond Poincare, Garches, France.
⁴ Service d'Explorations Fonctionnelles Respiratoires, Université Paris-Saclay. AP-HP, Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, 92380, Garches, France.
⁵ Intensive Care Unit, Raymond Poincaré Hospital, Boulevard Raymond Poincaré, Garches, APHP, France.

Abstract

Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) is a major complication of COVID-19 pneumonia and parasternal intercostal muscle thickening may be used as a biomarker to assess inspiratory effort. We report the case of a high utilization of parasternal intercostal muscle prior to the introduction of invasive ventilation in a 66-year old male none vaccinated COVID -19 patient admitted in hospital because of AHRF.

Keywords: AHRF, acute hypoxemic respiratory failure; COVID-19; HFNC, high flow nasal cannula; Parasternal intercostal muscle; TFic, parasternal muscle intercostal thickening fraction; Ultrasound.

Publication types

Case Reports