Is There a Role for Lung Ultrasound During the COVID‐19 Pandemic?

Point-of-care ultrasound and COVID-19

“…Lung ultrasound has been used in Italy during the COVID-19 outbreak to facilitate appropriate resource utilization, including testing. 6 The broad application faces challenges including concern for false-negative test results, operator variability, clinician time to perform the ultrasound study, and risk of caregiver exposure.…”

“…The use of lung ultrasound to triage patients to an appropriate level of care based on the observed abnormality has been suggested. 6 Patients with COVID-19 infection who do not have any abnormalities on lung ultrasound and do not require supplemental oxygen can be observed at home. On the other hand, patients with gross lung ultrasound abnormalities or signs that these abnormalities are worsening may require a higher level of care in the intensive care unit as research suggests that there is an association between more prominent lung ultrasound abnormalities and clinical deterioration.…”

“…Lobar consolidations may raise suspicion for a superimposed bacterial process. 6 Patients with wellaerated anterior lung may derive greater benefi t from proning. 8 Lung ultrasound can estimate lung recruitment with positive end-expiratory pressure in acute respiratory distress syndrome.…”

Radiological Findings in Patients with COVID-19

“…According to Soldati et al, lung ultrasound (LUS) can detect changes in superficial lung parenchyma with greater accuracy as compared to chest X-rays and can, therefore, play an important role in triage, diagnosis and prognostic stratification of patients in the emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU) setting [14]. Poggiali and her colleagues recently published a report that suggests that ultrasound findings in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia correlated with CT findings, which signifies that LUS could be useful for early diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia in patients presenting to the ER [15].…”

Proposal for International Standardization of the Use of Lung Ultrasound for Patients With COVID‐19

“…A decade of clinical [1][2][3][4] and physical studies [5][6][7][8][9] clearly showed that lung ultrasound (LUS) is able to detect interstitial lung disease, subpleural consolidations, and acute respiratory distress syndrome from any etiologic cause. New evidence from published studies, [10][11][12] national and international organization statements, and informal case discussions with internationally recognized experts are showing the usefulness of LUS for the management of patients with 2019 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia, from diagnosis to monitoring and follow-up.…”