Project description:During the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), lung ultrasound has been used to diagnose and monitor respiratory condition. The aim of the study was to describe lung ultrasound findings in children with a COVID-19 infection. Patients younger than 18 years old and positive for COVID-19, admitted to pediatric tertiary referral hospital were included. They were divided into two groups depending on the presence of respiratory symptoms. Lung ultrasound results were categorized into four degrees according to Soldati et al. score (J Ultrasound Med 39:1-7, 2020) and it was also described the presence and type of consolidation. Sixteen patients were recruited. The median age was 11 years old (IQR 2.8-12). Four children (25%) required admission to the intensive care unit. Six patients (37.5%) presented with respiratory symptoms. Most of them showed S.score of 2 and subpleural consolidations were observed in four cases (66.6%). Ten patients (62.5%) presented with non-respiratory symptoms, lung ultrasound showed S.score from 0 to 2. Three (30%) were diagnosed of multisystem inflammatory syndrome and lung ultrasounds showed S.score of 2 with bilateral pleural effusion.Conclusions: Children with COVID-19 and respiratory symptoms mostly showed a S.score of 2 and 3 with subpleural consolidations, upon the lung ultrasound assessment. What is Known: • Lung ultrasound is a useful tool for monitoring patients with respiratory symptoms in both adults and children. Lung ultrasounds are altered in adult patients with COVID-19. What is New: • Lung ultrasound might improve COVID-19 assessment, it could be a useful tool to diagnose and monitor patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Even COVID-19 patients with non-respiratory symptoms have lung alterations that are visible on lung ultrasound.
Project description:ObjectivesLung ultrasound (LUS) can accurately diagnose several pulmonary diseases, including pneumothorax, effusion, and pneumonia. LUS may be useful in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19.MethodsThis study was conducted at two United States hospitals from 3/21/2020 to 6/01/2020. Our inclusion criteria included hospitalized adults with COVID-19 (based on symptomatology and a confirmatory RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2) who received a LUS. Providers used a 12-zone LUS scanning protocol. The images were interpreted by the researchers based on a pre-developed consensus document. Patients were stratified by clinical deterioration (defined as either ICU admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, or death within 28 days from the initial symptom onset) and time from symptom onset to their scan.ResultsN = 22 patients (N = 36 scans) were included. Eleven (50%) patients experienced clinical deterioration. Among N = 36 scans, only 3 (8%) were classified as normal. The remaining scans demonstrated B-lines (89%), consolidations (56%), pleural thickening (47%), and pleural effusion (11%). Scans from patients with clinical deterioration demonstrated higher percentages of bilateral consolidations (50 versus 15%; P = .033), anterior consolidations (47 versus 11%; P = .047), lateral consolidations (71 versus 29%; P = .030), pleural thickening (69 versus 30%; P = .045), but not B-lines (100 versus 80%; P = .11). Abnormal findings had similar prevalences between scans collected 0-6 days and 14-28 days from symptom onset.DiscussionCertain LUS findings may be common in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, especially for those that experience clinical deterioration. These findings may occur anytime throughout the first 28 days of illness. Future efforts should investigate the predictive utility of these findings on clinical outcomes.
Project description:Many patients with COVID-19, the clinical illness caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, exhibit mild symptoms and do not require hospitalization. Instead, these patients are often referred for 14-days of home isolation as symptoms resolve. Lung ultrasound is well-established as an important means of evaluating lung pathology in patients in the emergency department and in intensive care units. Ultrasound is also being used to assess admitted patients with COVID-19. However, data on the progression of sonographic findings in patients with COVID-19 on home isolation is lacking. Here we present a case series of a group of physician patients with COVID-19 who monitored themselves daily while in home isolation using lung point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Lung POCUS findings corresponded with symptom onset and resolution in all 3 patients with confirmed COVID-19 during the 14-day isolation period. Lung POCUS may offer a feasible means of monitoring patients with COVID-19 who are on home isolation. Further studies correlating sonographic findings to disease progression and prognosis will be valuable.
Project description:PurposeInformation regarding the use of lung ultrasound (LUS) in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is quickly accumulating, but its use for risk stratification and outcome prediction has yet to be described. We performed the first systematic and comprehensive LUS evaluation of consecutive patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, in order to describe LUS findings and their association with clinical course and outcome.MethodsBetween 21/03/2020 and 04/05/2020, 120 consecutive patients admitted to the Tel Aviv Medical Center due to COVID-19, underwent complete LUS within 24 h of admission. A second exam was performed in case of clinical deterioration. LUS score of 0 (best)-36 (worst) was assigned to each patient. LUS findings were compared with clinical data.ResultsThe median baseline total LUS score was 15, IQR [7-20]. Baseline LUS score was 0-18 in 80 (67%) patients, and 19-36 in 40 (33%) patients. The majority had patchy pleural thickening (n = 100; 83%), or patchy subpleural consolidations (n = 93; 78%) in at least one zone. The prevalence of pleural thickening, subpleural consolidations and the total LUS score were all correlated with severity of illness on admission. Clinical deterioration was associated with increased follow-up LUS scores (p = 0.0009), mostly due to loss of aeration in anterior lung segments. The optimal cutoff point for LUS score was 18 (sensitivity = 62%, specificity = 74%). Both mortality and need for invasive mechanical ventilation were increased with baseline LUS score > 18 compared to baseline LUS score 0-18. Unadjusted hazard ratio of death for LUS score was 1.08 per point [1.02-1.16], p = 0.008; Unadjusted hazard ratio of the composite endpoint (death or need for invasive mechanical ventilation) for LUS score was 1.12 per point [1.05-1.2], p = 0.0008.ConclusionHospitalized patients with COVID-19, at all clinical grades, present with pathological LUS findings. Baseline LUS score strongly correlates with the eventual need for invasive mechanical ventilation and is a strong predictor of mortality. Routine use of LUS may guide patients' management strategies, as well as resource allocation in case of surge capacity.
Project description:Lung transplantation can potentially be a life-saving treatment for patients with non-resolving COVID-19-associated respiratory failure. Concerns limiting transplant include recurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the allograft, technical challenges imposed by viral-mediated injury to the native lung, and potential risk for allograft infection by pathogens associated with ventilator-associated pneumonia in the native lung. Most importantly, the native lung might recover, resulting in long-term outcomes preferable to transplant. Here, we report results of the first successful lung transplantation procedures in patients with non-resolving COVID-19-associated respiratory failure in the United States. We performed sm-FISH to detect both positive and negative strands of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the explanted lung tissue, extracellular matrix imaging using SHIELD tissue clearance, and single cell RNA-Seq on explant and warm post-mortem lung biopsies from patients who died from severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Lungs from patients with prolonged COVID-19 were free of virus but pathology showed extensive evidence of injury and fibrosis which resembled end-stage pulmonary fibrosis. We used a machine learning approach to project single cell RNA-Seq data from patients with late stage COVID-19 onto a single cell atlas of pulmonary fibrosis, revealing similarities across cell lineages. There was no recurrence of SARS-CoV-2 or pathogens associated with pre-transplant ventilator associated pneumonias following transplantation. Our findings suggest that some patients with severe COVID-19 develop fibrotic lung disease for which lung transplantation is the only option for survival.
Project description:BackgroundBedside lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a useful and non-invasive tool to detect lung involvement and monitor changes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the clinical significance of the LUS score in patients with COVID-19 remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the LUS score in patients with COVID-19.MethodThe LUS protocol consisted of 12 scanning zones and was performed in 280 consecutive patients with COVID-19. The LUS score based on B-lines, lung consolidation and pleural line abnormalities was evaluated.ResultsThe median time from admission to LUS examinations was 7 days (interquartile range [IQR] 3-10). Patients in the highest LUS score group were more likely to have a lower lymphocyte percentage (LYM%); higher levels of D-dimer, C-reactive protein, hypersensitive troponin I and creatine kinase muscle-brain; more invasive mechanical ventilation therapy; higher incidence of ARDS; and higher mortality than patients in the lowest LUS score group. After a median follow-up of 14 days [IQR, 10-20 days], 37 patients developed ARDS, and 13 died. Patients with adverse outcomes presented a higher rate of bilateral involvement; more involved zones and B-lines, pleural line abnormalities and consolidation; and a higher LUS score than event-free survivors. The Cox models adding the LUS score as a continuous variable (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.05, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.02?~?1.08; P?<?0.001; Akaike information criterion [AIC]?=?272; C-index?=?0.903) or as a categorical variable (HR 10.76, 95% CI 2.75?~?42.05; P?=?0.001; AIC?=?272; C-index?=?0.902) were found to predict poor outcomes more accurately than the basic model (AIC?=?286; C-index?=?0.866). An LUS score cut-off?>?12 predicted adverse outcomes with a specificity and sensitivity of 90.5% and 91.9%, respectively.ConclusionsThe LUS score devised by our group performs well at predicting adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19 and is important for risk stratification in COVID-19 patients.
Project description:Patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) typically present with bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacification with a peripheral distribution. The utility of point-of-care ultrasound has been suggested, but detailed descriptions of lung ultrasound findings are not available. We evaluated lung ultrasound findings in 10 patients admitted to the internal medicine ward with COVID-19. All of the patients had characteristic glass rockets with or without the Birolleau variant (white lung). Thick irregular pleural lines and confluent B lines were also present in all of the patients. Five of the 10 patients had small subpleural consolidations. Point-of-care lung ultrasound has multiple advantages, including lack of radiation exposure and repeatability. Also, lung ultrasound has been shown to be more sensitive than a chest radiograph in detecting alveolar-interstitial syndrome. The utilization of lung ultrasound may also reduce exposure of healthcare workers to severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 and may mitigate the shortage of personal protective equipment. Further studies are needed to evaluate the utility of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19.
Project description:COVID-19 pneumonia typically begins with subpleural ground glass opacities with progressive extension on computerized tomography studies. Lung ultrasound is well suited to this interstitial, subpleural involvement, and it is now broadly used in intensive care units (ICUs). The extension and severity of lung infiltrates can be described numerically with a reproducible and validated lung ultrasound score (LUSS). We hypothesized that LUSS might be useful as a tool to non-invasively monitor the evolution of COVID-19 pneumonia at the bedside. LUSS monitoring was rapidly implemented in the management of our COVID-19 patients with RT-PCR-documented COVID-19. The LUSS was evaluated repeatedly at the bedside. We present a graphic description of the course of LUSS during COVID-19 in 10 consecutive patients admitted in our intensive care unit with moderate to severe ARDS between March 15 and 30th. LUSS appeared to be closely related to the disease progression. In successfully extubated patients, LUSS decreased and was lower than at the time of intubation. LUSS increased inexorably in a patient who died from refractory hypoxemia. LUSS helped with the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), showing an increased score and the presence of new lung consolidations in all 5 patients with VAPs. There was also a good agreement between CT-scans and LUSS as for the presence of lung consolidations. In conclusion, our early experience suggests that LUSS monitoring accurately reflect disease progression and indicates potential usefulness for the management of COVID-19 patients with ARDS. It might help with early VAP diagnosis, mechanical ventilation weaning management, and potentially reduce the need for X-ray and CT exams. LUSS evaluation is easy to use and readily available in ICUs throughout the world, and might be a safe, cheap and simple tool to optimize critically ill COVID-19 patients care during the pandemic.
Project description:Clinical and prognostic differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic older patients with COVID-19 are of great interest since frail patients often show atypical presentation of illness. Lung Ultrasound (LUS) has been proven to be a reliable tool for detecting early-phase COVID-19 pneumonic alterations. The current prospective bicentric study aimed to compare LUS score and 3-month overall mortality between asymptomatic and symptomatic older patients with COVID-19, according to frailty status. Patients were stratified according to LUS score tertiles and Clinical Frailty Scale categories. Survival rate was assessed by telephone interviews 3 months after discharge. 64 symptomatic (24 women, aged 80.0 ± 10.8 years) and 46 asymptomatic (31 women, aged 84.3 ± 8.8 years) were consecutively enrolled. LUS score resulted an independent predictor of 3-month mortality [OR 2.27 (CI95% 1.09-4.8), p = 0.03], and the highest mortality rate was observed in symptomatic and asymptomatic pre-frail and frail patients (70.6% and 66.7%, respectively) with greater LUS abnormalities (3rd tertile). In conclusion, LUS identified an acute interstitial lung involvement in most of the older asymptomatic patients. Mortality rate progressively increased according to clinical frailty and LUS score degree, resulting a reliable prognostic tool in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.
Project description:Background: Lung injury is a common condition among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, whether lung ultrasound (LUS) score predicts all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19 is unknown. The aim of the present study was to explore the predictive value of lung ultrasound score for mortality in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Patients with COVID-19 who underwent lung ultrasound were prospectively enrolled from three hospitals in Wuhan, China between February 2020 and March 2020. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected from digital patient records. Lung ultrasound scores were analyzed offline by two observers. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: Of the 402 patients, 318 (79.1%) had abnormal lung ultrasound. Compared with survivors (n = 360), non-survivors (n = 42) presented with more B2 lines, pleural line abnormalities, pulmonary consolidation, and pleural effusion (all p < 0.05). Moreover, non-survivors had higher global and anterolateral lung ultrasound score than survivors. In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, areas under the curve were 0.936 and 0.913 for global and anterolateral lung ultrasound score, respectively. A cutoff value of 15 for global lung ultrasound score had a sensitivity of 92.9% and specificity of 85.3%, and 9 for anterolateral score had a sensitivity of 88.1% and specificity of 83.3% for prediction of death. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that both global and anterolateral scores were strong predictors of death (both p < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that global lung ultrasound score was an independent predictor (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.16; p = 0.03) of death together with age, male sex, C-reactive protein, and creatine kinase-myocardial band. Conclusion: Lung ultrasound score as a semiquantitative tool can be easily measured by bedside lung ultrasound. It is a powerful predictor of in-hospital mortality and may play a crucial role in risk stratification of patients with COVID-19.