21 Lung Ultrasound Versus Chest X-Ray for the Radiographic Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia in a High Prevalence Population

Abstract

The viral illness severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), more commonly known as coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), has become a global pandemic infecting over 160 million individuals worldwide. Symptoms are often vague, and physical exam findings have proven unreliable as indicators of infection. Therefore, diagnosis typically relies on imaging or nasopharyngeal swabs. The objective of this study was to compare point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) with chest x-ray (CXR) to determine which is the more accurate diagnostic imaging modality for diagnosing COVID-19 pneumonia.