Objectives The aim of this study was to describe findings from lung ultrasound (LUS) and computed tomography (CT) in health professionals with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia and to evaluate the associations of the findings of both tests. Methods This cross‐sectional observational study evaluated 45 health professionals who were initially seen in screening tents and had a diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 as confirmed by a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and lung involvement diagnosed by LUS. Subsequently, these individuals were admitted to the hospital, where chest CT was performed. Aeration scores were obtained for the LUS examinations based on the following findings: more than 2 B‐lines, coalescent B‐lines, and subpleural consolidations. A subjective assessment of the extent of lung disease on CT was performed on the basis of the percentage of lung parenchyma involvement as follows: 25% or less, 25% to 50%, and greater than 50%. Results Regarding LUS signs, more than 2 B‐lines, coalescent B‐lines, and subpleural consolidations were present in 73.3%, 68.2%, and 24.4% of cases, respectively. The main findings on CT were ground glass opacities, a crazy‐paving pattern, and consolidations (66.7%, 20%, and 20% of cases); 17.8% of cases had examinations without abnormalities. Patients with more than 2 B‐lines on LUS had more ground glass opacity areas on CT ( P = .0007), whereas patients with subpleural consolidations on LUS had more consolidations on CT ( P < .0001). In addition, patients with higher LUS aeration scores had more extensive disease on CT ( P < .0001). Conclusions Lung ultrasound can detect lung injury even in the presence of normal CT results. There are associations between the abnormalities detected by both methods, and a relationship also exists between LUS aeration scores and the disease extent on CT.

In the early detection of silicosis and the identification of progressive massive fibrosis, HRCT scans are superior to X-rays.

The purpose of this series was to describe the ultrasonographic and radiographic manifestations of changes to the hands and wrists in 50 patients with chronic musculoskeletal symptoms secondary to Chikungunya fever during the 2016 outbreak that occurred in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Most of the plain radiographs were normal (62%). The most common ultrasonographic findings were small joint synovitis (84%), wrist synovitis (74%), finger tenosynovitis (70%), and cellulitis (50%). In most cases, power Doppler did not show an increase in synovial vascular flow. The plain radiographs showed no specific findings, whereas the ultrasound images revealed synovial compromise and neural thickening.

Background COVID-19 is characterized by a rapid change in the patient’s condition, with major changes occurring over a few days. We aimed to develop and evaluate an emergency system for monitoring patients with COVID-19, which may be useful in hospitals where more severe patients stay in their homes. Methodology/Principal findings The system consists of the home-based patient unit, which is set up around the patient and the hospital unit, which enables the medical staff to telemonitor the patient’s condition and help to send medical recommendations. The home unit allows the data transmission from the patient to the hospital, which is performed using a cell phone application. The hospital unit includes a virtual instrument developed in LabVIEW® environment that can provide a real-time monitoring of the oxygen saturation (SpO2), beats per minute (BPM), body temperature (BT), and peak expiratory flow (PEF). Abnormal events may be fast and automatically identified. After the design details are described, the system is validated by a 30-day home monitoring study in 12 controls and 12 patients with COVID-19 presenting asymptomatic to mild disease. Patients presented reduced SpO2 (p<0.0001) and increased BPM values (p<0.0001). Three patients (25%) presented PEF values between 50 and 80% of the predicted. Three of the 12 monitored patients presented events of desaturation (SpO2<92%). The experimental results were in close agreement with the involved pathophysiology, providing clear evidence that the proposed system can be a useful tool for the remote monitoring of patients with COVID-19. Conclusions An emergency system for home monitoring of patients with COVID-19 was developed in the current study. The proposed system allowed us to quickly respond to early abnormalities in these patients. This system may contribute to conserving hospital resources for those most in need while simultaneously enabling early recognition of patients under acute deterioration, requiring urgent assessment.

BackgroundDespite the gradual improvement in treatment procedures and cure rates of acromegaly, a steady increase in the mortality rate due to respiratory disease has been documented in recent decades. In this study, our objectives were to describe the abnormalities in lung structure and function that occur in acromegalic patients and to correlate these changes with hormonal levels.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 20 acromegalic patients and 20 age-and height-matched control subjects, all non-smokers. All subjects underwent spirometry, whole body plethysmography, carbon monoxide diffusing capacity, and respiratory muscle strength. Acromegalic patients also performed high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT).ResultsMost patients were female (65%), with a mean age of 52.5 ± 13 years. Acromegalic patients showed lower values of maximum expiratory pressure (55.9 ± 17.1 vs. 103.7 ± 19.2%; p < 0.001) and maximum inspiratory pressure (71.4 ± 27.8 vs. 85.3 ± 24.1%; p = 0.005) compared to control subjects. The values of forced vital capacity (107.1 ± 15.9 vs. 98.9 ± 21.4%; p = 0.028), total lung capacity – TLC (107.3 ± 12.9 vs. 93.7 ± 7.60%; p = 0.002), residual volume (114.1 ± 22.7 vs. 90.0 ± 14.6%; p < 0.001), and airways’ resistance (3.82 vs. 2.31 cmH2O/L/s; p = 0.039) were greater in acromegalic patients than in control subjects. The difference between the TLC measured by plethysmography and the VA (alveolar volume) measured during the DLCO maneuver was higher in acromegalic patients than in control subjects (0.69 ± 0.46 vs. 0.19 ± 0.61 L; p = 0.021). The main findings in HRCT in acromegalic patients were air trapping, airway calcification and bronchiectasis, which were observed in 60%, 40% and 35% of cases, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I, the lung function and the air trapping.ConclusionsAcromegalic patients show changes consistent with the involvement of the small airways and ventilation inhomogeneity, both in terms of lung function and structure. However, air trapping cannot be explained either by hormone levels or changes in lung function.

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ObjectiveTo describe the main tomography findings in patients diagnosed with pulmonary infection caused by Mycobacterium kansasii.Materials and MethodsRetrospective study of computed tomography scans of 19 patients with pulmonary infection by M. kansasii.ResultsOf the 19 patients evaluated, 10 (52.6%) were male and 9 (47.4%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 58 years (range, 33-76 years). Computed tomography findings were as follows: architectural distortion, in 17 patients (89.5%); reticular opacities and bronchiectasis, in 16 (84.2%); cavities, in 14 (73.7%); centrilobular nodules, in 13 (68.4%); small consolidations, in 10 (52.6%); atelectasis and large consolidations, in 9 (47.4%); subpleural blebs and emphysema, in 6 (31.6%); and adenopathy, in 1 (5.3%).ConclusionThere was a predominance of cavities, as well as of involvement of the small and large airways. The airway disease was characterized by bronchiectasis and bronchiolitis presenting as centrilobular nodules.

ObjectiveTo describe the main ultrasound findings of chikungunya fever in the ankle.Materials and MethodsThis was a cross-sectional observational study involving 52 patients referred to the Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto and presenting with clinical and biochemical evidence of chikungunya fever. The examinations were performed by a radiologist with more than 20 years of experience in ultrasound.ResultsThe predominant gender was female (in 88.5%), and the mean age was 58.4 years. The majority (61.5%) of the patients came from the northern part of the city of Rio de Janeiro, and 46.2% were using corticosteroids to treat inflammatory symptoms. The most common alterations observed by ultrasound were joint effusion (in 69.2%), tenosynovitis (in 59.6%), cellulitis (in 46.2%), Kager's fat pad thickening (in 29.9%), myositis (of the soleus or flexor hallucis longus muscle) (in 17.3%), retrocalcaneal bursitis (in 5.8%), tendon ruptures (in 3.8%), and increased vascular flow on power Doppler (in 3.8%).ConclusionSigns of synovitis and tenosynovitis were the main ultrasound findings in a predominantly female population with a mean age of 58.4 years. Further studies are needed in order to define the role of ultrasound in the follow-up of such patients.