Findings and Prognostic Value of Lung Ultrasonography in Coronal Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pneumonia

• Published in: Shock (Augusta, Ga.) Vol. 56; no. 2; pp. 200 - 205
• Main Authors: Li, Lu, Qin, Aihua, Yang, Xiao, Zhou, Shuliang, Luo, Yun, Zhu, Fangfang, Hu, Bo, Li, Jianguo, Cai, Shuhan, Peng, Zhiyong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-08-2021; by the Shock Society
• Subjects: Clinical Science Aspects
• ISSN: 1073-2322; 1540-0514
• DOI: 10.1097/SHK.0000000000001700

PURPOSE:We used lung ultrasonography to identify features of COVID-19 pneumonia and to evaluate the prognostic value.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:We performed lung ultrasonography on 48 COVID-19 patients in an ICU (Wuhan, China) using a 12-zone method. The associations between lung ultrasonography score, PaO2/FiO2, APACHE II, SOFA, and PaCO2 with 28-day mortality were analyzed and the receiver operator characteristic curve was plotted.
RESULTS:25.9% areas in all scanning zones presented with B7 lines and 23.5% with B3 lines(B-pattern) on lung ultrasonography; 13% areas with confluent B lines(B-pattern), 24.9% in areas with consolidations, and 9.9% in areas with A lines. Pleural effusion was observed in 2.8% of areas. Lung ultrasonography score was negatively correlated with PaO2/FiO2 (n = 48, r = -0.498, P < 0.05) andpositively correlated with APACHE II (n = 48, r = 0.435, P < 0.05). Lung ultrasonography score was independently associated with 28-day mortality. The areas under ROC curves of lung ultrasonography score was 0.735 (95% CI0.586–0.844). The sensitivity, specificity, and cutoff values were 0.833, 0.722, and 22.5, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS:Lung ultrasonography could be used to assess the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia, and it could also reveal the pathological signs of the disease. The lung ultrasonography score on ICU admission was independently related to the ICU 28-day mortality.