Lung ultrasound is a well-established diagnostic tool in acute respiratory failure, and it has been shown to be particularly suited for the management of COVID-19-associated respiratory failure. We present exploratory analyses on the diagnostic and prognostic performance of lung ultrasound score (LUS) in general ward patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 pneumonia receiving O 2 supplementation and/or noninvasive ventilation. From March 10 through May 1, 2020, 103 lung ultrasound exams were performed by our Forward Intensive Care Team (FICT) on 26 patients (18 males and 8 females), aged 62 (54 – 76) and with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30.9 (28.7 – 31.5), a median 6 (5 – 9) days after admission to the COVID-19 medical unit of the University Hospital of Parma, Italy. All patients underwent chest computed tomography (CT) the day of admission. The initial LUS was 16 (11 – 21), which did not significantly correlate with initial CT scans, probably due to rapid progression of the disease and time between CT scan on admission and first FICT evaluation; conversely, LUS was significantly correlated with PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio throughout patient follow-up [R = − 4.82 (− 6.84 to − 2.80; p < 0.001)]. The area under the receiving operating characteristics curve of LUS for the diagnosis of moderate-severe disease (PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio ≤ 200 mmHg) was 0.73, with an optimal cutoff value of 11 (positive predictive value: 0.98; negative predictive value: 0.29). Patients who eventually needed invasive ventilation and/or died during admission had significantly higher LUS throughout their stay.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Computed tomography, Lung ultrasound, Non invasive ventilation, 【초록키워드】 Respiratory failure, diagnostic, Diagnosis, Noninvasive ventilation, lung, progression, Italy, invasive ventilation, Chest computed tomography, Characteristics, management, CT scan, male, Patient, CT scans, Follow-up, BMI, prognostic, university, disease, Admission, Predictive, index, Exploratory analysis, mass, team, cutoff value, positive, females, moderate-to-severe COVID-19 pneumonia, initial, shown, performed, died, significantly, the disease, receiving, median, correlated, significantly higher, Body, Forward, moderate-severe, PaO, 【제목키워드】 lung, moderate, pilot study, handling, severe COVID-19 patient,