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.
Highlights
The first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)infection were reported at the end of December 2019 and, in March 2020, the World HealthOrganization declared a pandemic
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19 is the main cause of death [2]
(3) Mild, moderate or severe disease as classified according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) COVID-19 Guidelines [9]. (4) Absence of critical illness at the time of inclusion according to the classification of the NIH COVID-19 Guidelines [9]. (5) Age above
Summary
The first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)infection were reported at the end of December 2019 and, in March 2020, the World HealthOrganization declared a pandemic. The first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Infection were reported at the end of December 2019 and, in March 2020, the World Health. The virus continues to spread around the world, and there are more than 150 million confirmed cases and more than 3 million deaths (https://covid19.who.int/, accessed on 26 April 2021). A significant percentage of COVID-19 patients will develop pneumonia [1] and 15–20%. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19 is the main cause of death [2]. Risk factors associated with poor outcomes are age above 65 years, some chronic diseases (cardiovascular, pulmonary and chronic kidney diseases), active malignancy, diabetes mellitus and obesity, among others.
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