tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Clin Med
. 2021 Jul 20;10(14):3196.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10143196.
Importance of Lung Ultrasound Follow-Up in Patients Who Had Recovered from Coronavirus Disease 2019: Results from a Prospective Study
Alba Hernández-Píriz[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Yale Tung-Chen[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], David Jiménez-Virumbrales[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Ibone Ayala-Larrañaga[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Raquel Barba-Martín[SUP] 2 3 7 [/SUP], Jesús Canora-Lebrato[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Antonio Zapatero-Gaviria[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Gonzalo García De Casasola-Sánchez[SUP] 3 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
There is growing evidence regarding the imaging findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in lung ultrasounds, however, their role in predicting the prognosis has yet to be explored. Our objective was to assess the usefulness of lung ultrasound in the short-term follow-up (1 and 3 months) of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, and to describe the progression of the most relevant lung ultrasound findings. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal and observational study performed in patients with confirmed COVID-19 who underwent a lung ultrasound examination during hospitalization and repeated it 1 and 3 months after hospital discharge. A total of 96 patients were enrolled. In the initial ultrasound, bilateral involvement was present in 100% of the patients with mild, moderate or severe ARDS. The most affected lung area was the posteroinferior (93.8%) followed by the lateral (88.7%). Subpleural consolidations were present in 68% of the patients and consolidations larger than 1 cm in 24%. One month after the initial study, only 20.8% had complete resolution on lung ultrasound. This percentage rose to 68.7% at 3 months. Residual lesions were observed in a significant percentage of patients who recovered from moderate or severe ARDS (32.4% and 61.5%, respectively). In conclusion, lung injury associated with COVID-19 might take time to resolve. The findings in this report support the use of lung ultrasound in the short-term follow-up of patients recovered from COVID-19, as a radiation-sparing, easy to use, novel care path worth exploring.
Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); lung score; lung ultrasound (LUS); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
. 2021 Jul 20;10(14):3196.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10143196.
Importance of Lung Ultrasound Follow-Up in Patients Who Had Recovered from Coronavirus Disease 2019: Results from a Prospective Study
Alba Hernández-Píriz[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Yale Tung-Chen[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], David Jiménez-Virumbrales[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Ibone Ayala-Larrañaga[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Raquel Barba-Martín[SUP] 2 3 7 [/SUP], Jesús Canora-Lebrato[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Antonio Zapatero-Gaviria[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Gonzalo García De Casasola-Sánchez[SUP] 3 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34300362
- DOI: 10.3390/jcm10143196
Abstract
There is growing evidence regarding the imaging findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in lung ultrasounds, however, their role in predicting the prognosis has yet to be explored. Our objective was to assess the usefulness of lung ultrasound in the short-term follow-up (1 and 3 months) of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, and to describe the progression of the most relevant lung ultrasound findings. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal and observational study performed in patients with confirmed COVID-19 who underwent a lung ultrasound examination during hospitalization and repeated it 1 and 3 months after hospital discharge. A total of 96 patients were enrolled. In the initial ultrasound, bilateral involvement was present in 100% of the patients with mild, moderate or severe ARDS. The most affected lung area was the posteroinferior (93.8%) followed by the lateral (88.7%). Subpleural consolidations were present in 68% of the patients and consolidations larger than 1 cm in 24%. One month after the initial study, only 20.8% had complete resolution on lung ultrasound. This percentage rose to 68.7% at 3 months. Residual lesions were observed in a significant percentage of patients who recovered from moderate or severe ARDS (32.4% and 61.5%, respectively). In conclusion, lung injury associated with COVID-19 might take time to resolve. The findings in this report support the use of lung ultrasound in the short-term follow-up of patients recovered from COVID-19, as a radiation-sparing, easy to use, novel care path worth exploring.
Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); lung score; lung ultrasound (LUS); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).