Lung ultrasound in COVID-19: a useful diagnostic tool

Published: 28 April 2020
Abstract Views: 2397
PDF: 873
Supplementary Material: 0
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), caused by a novel enveloped RNA betacoronavirus, has recently been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). The lack of knowledge at the beginning of the pandemics, associated with the inherent risk of infective spreading, makes initial recognition and management particularly complex, in terms of defining effective diagnostic and therapeutic protocols. In the Emergency setting, Lung Ultrasound (LUS) can play an important role in the management of patients with SARS-CoV2-related pneumonia, expanding from the initial diagnosis to the subsequent monitoring and follow-up. Among many other potential advantages (such has the absence of ionizing radiation, its inherent costeffectiveness, and bedside repeatability), LUS provides immediate diagnostic response and might prevent the risk of spreading the infection by moving the patient from the Emergency Room to the Radiology facilities. Aim of this short review is to define the potential role of lung ultrasound in Covid-19 patients, according to the evidence in the medical literature

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Health NIMo. http://www.salute.gov.it. 2020.
Guan WJ, Ni ZY, Hu Y, Liang WH, Ou CQ, He JX, et al. and China Medical Treatment Expert Group for C. Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China. N Engl J Med. 2020.
Volpicelli G, Elbarbary M, Blaivas M, Lichtenstein DA, Mathis G, Kirkpatrick AW, et al.. International evidence-based recommendations for point-of-care lung ultrasound. Intensive Care Med. 2012;38:577-91.
Perrone T, Maggi A, Sgarlata C, Palumbo I, Mossolani E, Ferrari S, et al. Lung ultrasound in internal medicine: A bedside help to increase accuracy in the diagnosis of dyspnea. Eur J Intern Med. 2017;46:61-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2017.07.034
Cortellaro F, Colombo S, Coen D and Duca PG. Lung ultrasound is an accurate diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of pneumonia in the emergency department. Emerg Med J. 2012;29:19-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.2010.101584
Lichtenstein DA. Ultrasound in the management of thoracic disease. Crit Care Med. 2007;35:S250-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.CCM.0000260674.60761.85
Testa A, Soldati G, Copetti R, Giannuzzi R, Portale G and Gentiloni-Silveri N. Early recognition of the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) pneumonia by chest ultrasound. Crit Care. 2012;16:R30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/cc11201
Lichtenstein D, Meziere G, Biderman P, Gepner A and Barre O. The comet-tail artifact. An ultrasound sign of alveolar-interstitial syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1997;156:1640-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm.156.5.96-07096
Via G, Storti E, Gulati G, Neri L, Mojoli F and Braschi A. Lung ultrasound in the ICU: from diagnostic instrument to respiratory monitoring tool. Minerva Anestesiol. 2012;78:1282-96.
Volpicelli G, Elbarbary M, Blaivas M, Lichtenstein DA, Mathis G, Kirkpatrick AW, et al. and International Liaison Committee on Lung Ultrasound for International Consensus Conference on Lung U. International evidence-based recommendations for point-of-care lung ultrasound. Intensive Care Med. 2012;38:577-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-012-2513-4
Bouhemad B, Mongodi S, Via G and Rouquette I. Ultrasound for "lung monitoring" of ventilated patients. Anesthesiology. 2015;122:437-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000000558
Soldati G, Copetti R and Gargani L. [Lung sonography for the cardiologist]. G Ital Cardiol (Rome). 2007;8:139-47.
Mojoli F, Bouhemad B, Mongodi S and Lichtenstein D. Lung Ultrasound for Critically Ill Patients. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;199:701-714. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201802-0236CI
Demi M, Prediletto R, Soldati G and Demi L. Physical Mechanisms Providing Clinical Information From Ultrasound Lung Images: Hypotheses and Early Confirmations. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2020;67:612-623. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TUFFC.2019.2949597
Soldati G, Demi M, Inchingolo R, Smargiassi A and Demi L. On the Physical Basis of Pulmonary Sonographic Interstitial Syndrome. J Ultrasound Med. 2016;35:2075-86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7863/ultra.15.08023
Ai T, Yang Z, Hou H, Zhan C, Chen C, Lv W, Tao Q, Sun Z and Xia L. Correlation of Chest CT and RT-PCR Testing in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China: A Report of 1014 Cases. Radiology. 2020:200642. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2020200642
Bernheim A, Mei X, Huang M, Yang Y, Fayad ZA, Zhang N, et al. Chest CT Findings in Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19): Relationship to Duration of Infection. Radiology. 2020:200463. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2020200463
Mayo PH, Copetti R, Feller-Kopman D, Mathis G, Maury E, Mongodi S, Mojoli F, Volpicelli G and Zanobetti M. Thoracic ultrasonography: a narrative review. Intensive Care Med. 2019;45:1200-1211. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-019-05725-8
Peng QY, Wang XT, Zhang LN and Chinese Critical Care Ultrasound Study G. Findings of lung ultrasonography of novel corona virus pneumonia during the 2019-2020 epidemic. Intensive care medicine. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-020-05996-6
Soldati G, Smargiassi A, Inchingolo R, Buonsenso D, Perrone T, Briganti DF, et al. Is There a Role for Lung Ultrasound During the COVID-19 Pandemic? J Ultrasound Med. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jum.15284
Huang Y, Wang S, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Zheng C, Zheng, et al. A Preliminary Study on the Ultrasonic Manifestations of Peripulmonary Lesions of Non-Critical Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (Covid-19) 2020;2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.24369/v1

How to Cite

Secco, G., Delorenzo, M., Zattera, C., Giacomuzzi Moore, B., Demitry, L., Vezzoni, G., Resta, F., Barcella, B., Cappa, G., Perrone, T., Salinaro, F., & Perlini, S. (2020). Lung ultrasound in COVID-19: a useful diagnostic tool. Emergency Care Journal, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2020.9017