Utility of Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound for Clinical Classification of COVID-19

Zhu, Shu-Ting; Tao, Fang-Yi; Xu, Jing-Hong; Liao, Shu-Sheng; Shen, Chuan-Li; Shi, Bin-Bin; Liang, Zeng-Hui; Li, Qiao

In this study, the utility of point-of-care lung ultrasound for the clinical classification of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was prospectively assessed. Twenty-seven adult patients with COVID-19 underwent bedside lung ultrasonography (LUS) examinations three times within the first two weeks of admission to the isolation ward. We divided the 81 exams into three groups (i.e., moderate group, severe group, and critically ill group). Lung scores were calculated as the sum of points. A rank sum test and bivariate correlation analysis were carried out to determine the correlation between LUS on admission and the clinical classification of COVID-19. There were dramatic differences in LUS (p<0.001) among the three groups, and LUS scores (r=0.754) correlated positively with clinical severity (p<0.01). In addition, moderate, severe, and critically ill patients were more likely to have low (≤9), medium (9-15), and high scores (≥15), respectively. This study provides stratification criteria of LUS scores to assist in quantitatively evaluating COVID-19 patients.