The Role of Hand-Held Cardiac Ultrasound in Patients with COVID-19

Abstract

The role of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in patient management has been established in recent years as an important tool. It is increasingly used by multiple medical disciplines in numerous clinical settings, for different applications and diagnostic purposes and in the guidance of procedures. The introduction of small-sized and inexpensive hand-held ultrasound devices (HUDs) has addressed some of the POCUS-related challenges and has thus extended POCUS’ applicability. HUD utilization is even more relevant in the COVID-19 setting given the operators’ infection risk, excessive workload concerns and general equipment contamination. This review focuses on the available technology, usefulness, feasibility and clinical applications of HUD for echocardiogram assessment in patients with COVID-19.

Empowering Medical Students: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Precision Point-of-Care Echocardiography Assessment of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

“…As POCUS has gained popularity across many medical disciplines, the use of HUD has expanded due to its advantages, including small size, portability, cost, and its ability to provide a real-time and instantaneous assessment [19]. Tese characteristics were proven useful in settings that can lead to a direct impact on immediate patient diagnosis and management and led to HUD utilization for bedside evaluations, including during the COVID-19 pandemic [20][21][22]. Tough HUD use may involve several limitations, including screen size, imaging quality, and equivocal observations, its utilization was found to be reliable and accurate in diferent POCUS settings if properly performed [23,24].…”

The Use of Bedside Echocardiography to Diagnose Post-COVID Cardiomyopathy and Left Ventricular Thrombus in the Emergency Department

“…Bedside ultrasound was used in the rapid diagnosis and management of this patient, highlighting the benefit of this technology in evaluating emergency department patients generally presenting with cardiovascular symptoms. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has proven to be a valuable tool in detecting cardiovascular complications of the virus [9][10][11]. Ultrasound is cost-effective, portable, and instantaneous.…”

“…In addition to standard laboratory testing, electrocardiograms, and chest radiographs, ultrasound has proven powerful in diagnosing, treating, and managing cardiovascular disease in COVID-19-afflicted patients [9]. In particular, bedside ultrasound (also known as point-of-care ultrasound or handheld ultrasound) has been instrumental in providing cost-effective, portable, instantaneous, and high-quality information that physicians can use to direct the management of COVID-19 patients [10,11]. This case highlights an expedient diagnosis of post-COVID cardiomyopathy and left ventricular thrombus in a previously healthy patient using bedside echocardiography in the emergency department.…”

Artificial Intelligence-Based Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction by Medical Students for Mortality and Readmission Prediction

“…For example, these miniaturized devices played an important role in the recent COVID-19 pandemic in terms of predicting patients having unfavorable outcomes [24]. One of their advantages that was incredibly valuable during the pandemic is their small surface area which allowed them to be easily decontaminated [25].…”