SummaryHundreds of millions got infected, and millions have died worldwide and still the number of cases is rising.Chest radiographs and computed tomography (CT) are useful for imaging the lung but their use in infectious diseases is limited due to hygiene and availability.Lung ultrasound has been shown to be useful in the context of the pandemic, providing clinicians with valuable insights and helping identify complications such as pleural effusion in heart failure or bacterial superinfections. Moreover, lung ultrasound is useful for identifying possible complications of procedures, in particular, pneumothorax.Associations between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and cardiac complications, such as acute myocardial infarction and myocarditis, have been reported. As such, point of care echocardiography as well as a comprehensive approach in later stages of the disease provide important information for optimally diagnosing and treating complications of COVID-19.In our experience, lung ultrasound in combination with echocardiography, has a great impact on treatment decisions. In the acute state as well as in the follow-up setting after a severe or critical state of COVID-19, ultrasound can be of great impact to monitor the progression and regression of disease.
At the end of December 2019, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) started to spread in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province in China, first described as novel coronavirus [1,2]. Meanwhile, the current COVID-19 pandemic has hit every country on the globe. Health care systems have since varied significantly in their response to the immense challenges. With an online survey targeting the worldwide medical community (emergency medical service, nurses, physicians, sonographers, technicians) we sought to discover experiences, fears, and successful strategies for the expected second wave. The survey was open from April 24 th , 2020 until June 24 th , 2020. A total of 3,090 participants from 88 countries completed the survey, 49.4% were female, sample characteristics are presented in Table 1. During the worst times of the pandemic in their country, 238 (7.7%) reported to have suffered from a collapse of the system. The pandemic is having an impact on the life of all, but particularly on those in the first line of the defense, the health care professionals (HCP). In this global survey, a total of 92% of the participants reported to have fears related to the pandemic, most (41%) are afraid of losing a family member, 22.5% worry there might be no control over the pandemic, 13.4% are afraid to fall ill or die themselves, and 12.8% are afraid of private financial losses. Interestingly, there was no difference in fears between those countries where high incidence rates were reported and those where there were few COVID-19 cases. However, not only the psychological burden is high for HCP. When comparing those with a collapse of the system and those without, 9% vs.
Lung ultrasound has the potential to enable standardized follow‐up without radiation exposure and with lower associated costs in comparison to CT scans. It is a valuable tool to follow up on patients after a COVID‐19 infection and evaluate if there is pulmonary fibrosis developing. Echocardiography, including strain imaging, is a proven tool to assess various causes of dyspnea and adds valuable information in the context of long COVID care. Including two‐dimensional (2D) strain imaging, a better comprehension of myocardial damage in post‐COVID syndrome can be made. Especially 2D strain imaging (left and the right ventricular strain) can provide information about prognosis.
BackgroundLearning ultrasound early in the medical school curriculum helps students to understand anatomy and pathology and to perform defined ultrasound standard views. Instructional videos are a potentially valuable tool for improving the process of learning ultrasound skills. It was the aim of the present study to investigate how students perceived instructional videos as a learning aid, compared to other learning opportunities, in preparation for an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).Materials and Methods Eleven concise ultrasound videos were created and implemented in the 4 th year at the Medical University of Vienna. The videos illustrate the predefined examination process, image optimization, and nine standardized ultrasound views. The videos were available to be used in preparation for the practical ultrasound examination, which was part of the objective structured clinical examination. The students’ perceptions of the instructional videos and other learning methods were surveyed using an online questionnaire. ResultsIn total, 445 of 640 students (69.5% of the cohort) used the instructional videos. Of those students, 134 (30%) answered the questionnaire. Of this group, 88.9% rated the instructional videos as very helpful (49.6% as extremely helpful). An ANOVA revealed a significant difference between various learning materials in terms of helpfulness. Post hoc analysis showed that instructional videos were perceived as the second most helpful learning material after “self-execution and feedback.”ConclusionThe study revealed that students use instructional videos frequently and appreciate them as an extra tool for effective studying.
(1) Background: Millions of people worldwide were infected with COVID-19. After the acute phase of the disease, many suffer from prolonged symptoms, the post-COVID syndrome, especially the phenotype with lung residuals. Many open questions regarding lung ultrasound (LUS) have to be answered. One essential question is the means for optimal following-up of patients with post-COVID-19 residuals with LUS; (2) Methods: A retrospective data analysis of patients after acute COVID-19 infection diagnosed with post-COVID syndrome in the state hospital of Steyr and the rehabilitation center of Hochegg was performed. LUS examinations following a 12-zone scanning protocol were performed, and the LUS score quantified comet tail artifacts. A total of 16 patients were evaluated twice with LUS from May 2020 until June 2021. (3) Results: All patients’ reverberation artifacts were reduced over time. The initial LUS score of 17.75 (SD 4.84) points was decreased over the duration of the second rehabilitation to 8,2 (SD 5.94). The difference in the Wilcoxon test was significant (p < 0.001); (4) Conclusions: Lung ultrasound was a valuable tool in the follow-up of post-COVID-syndrome with lung residuals in the first wave of COVID-19. A reduction in reverberation artifacts was demonstrated. Further studies about the clinical significance have to follow.
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