Changes in lung ultrasound of symptomatic healthcare professionals with COVID‐19 pneumonia and their association with clinical findings

Mafort, Thiago Thomaz; Lopes, Agnaldo José; da Costa, Cláudia Henrique; da Cal, Mariana Soares; Lopes, Mariana Carneiro; da Silva, Bruno Rangel Antunes; Faria, Luana Fortes; Faria, Anamelia Costa; Costa, Walter; Salles, Raquel Esteves Brandão; de Castro, Marcos César Santos; Rufino, Rogério

PURPOSE: To evaluate ultrasound signs of coronavirus disease‐19 (COVID‐19) pneumonia in symptomatic healthcare professionals and to correlate those changes with clinical findings. METHODS: All patients underwent real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), lung ultrasound (LUS) and clinical evaluation on the same day. In each of the 12 areas evaluated in the LUS, the LUS signs were scored to generate the aeration score. RESULTS: A total of 409 participants had positive PCR, with a median age of 41 (35‐51) years. All participants had clinical symptoms, with cough in 84.1%, fever in 69.7%, and dyspnea in 36.2% of cases. In the LUS, 72.6% of participants had B‐lines >2, 36.2% had coalescent B‐lines, and 8.06% had subpleural consolidations. The median aeration score was 3 (2‐7). The aeration score differed significantly regarding the presence of cough (P = .002), fever (P = .001), and dyspnea (P < .0001). The finding of subpleural consolidations in the LUS showed significant differences between participants with or without dyspnea (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: In healthcare professionals with COVID‐19, LUS plays a key role in the characterization of lung involvement. Although B‐lines are the most common ultrasound sign, subpleural consolidations are those that most impact the respiratory condition.