Transthoracic Ultrasound Evaluation of Pulmonary Changes in COVID-19 Patients During Treatment Using Modified Protocols

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of evaluating imaging changes pre-and post-treatment in Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients by transthoracic pulmonary ultrasound. Methods: A total of 8 patients diagnosed with severe or critical COVID-19 pneumonia were recruited, and then ultrasound scanning was performed to evaluate the pulmonary imaging changes pre- and post-treatment based on a modified ultrasonic Buda protocol. The correlation between chest high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) Warrick scoring and ultrasonic results was analyzed. Results: The main manifestations of ultrasonic imaging in severe or critical COVID-19 patients were: (1) pleural thickening (8/8), blurry or irregular fragmentation (6/8), and discontinuous fragmentation (4/8); (2) pulmonary lesions: B-line sign (2/8), partial or complete fusion of B-line (white lung) (8/8), and pulmonary or subpleural small consolidation (C-line sign) in severe cases (3/8); and (3) rarely, pleural effusion or pulmonary gas cyst (1/8). The imaging results, which were evaluated followed by a modified Buda transthoracic pulmonary ultrasound protocol, were highly correlated with HRCT Warrick scoring (r = 0.715, P < 0.05). Meanwhile, both ultrasonic and HRCT imaging results were significantly improved with progressive COVID-19 treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The ultrasonic pulmonary imaging of COVID-19 patients manifested several characteristics. The modified Buda transthoracic pulmonary ultrasound protocol could be an alternative method to evaluate the pulmonary lesions in COVID-19 patients.