Lung Ultrasonography in the Evaluation of Late Sequelae of COVID-19 Pneumonia—A Comparison with Chest Computed Tomography: A Prospective Study

Autor: Katarzyna Zimna, Małgorzata Sobiecka, Jacek Wakuliński, Dorota Wyrostkiewicz, Ewa Jankowska, Monika Szturmowicz, Witold Z. Tomkowski
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Viruses, Vol 16, Iss 6, p 905 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1999-4915
DOI: 10.3390/v16060905
Popis: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed physicians to gain experience in lung ultrasound (LUS) during the acute phase of the disease. However, limited data are available on LUS findings during the recovery phase. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of LUS to assess lung involvement in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. This study prospectively enrolled 72 patients who underwent paired LUS and chest CT scans (112 pairs including follow-up). The most frequent CT findings were ground glass opacities (83.3%), subpleural lines (72.2%), traction bronchiectasis (37.5%), and consolidations (31.9%). LUS revealed irregular pleural lines as a common abnormality initially (56.9%), along with subpleural consolidation >2.5 mm ≤10 mm (26.5%) and B-lines (26.5%). A strong correlation was found between LUS score, calculated by artificial intelligence percentage involvement in ground glass opacities described in CT (r = 0.702, p < 0.05). LUS score was significantly higher in the group with fibrotic changes compared to the non-fibrotic group with a mean value of 19.4 ± 5.7 to 11 ± 6.6, respectively (p < 0.0001). LUS might be considered valuable for examining patients with persistent symptoms after recovering from COVID-19 pneumonia. Abnormalities identified through LUS align with CT scan findings; thus, LUS might potentially reduce the need for frequent chest CT examinations.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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