Advanced Ultrasound in Diagnosis and Therapy (Jun 2020)

Bedside Ultrasound in Assessment of 510 Severe and Critical Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia in Wuhan, China

  • Bin Wang, MD, Li Zhang, MD, Danqing Zhang, MD, Hongliang Yuan, MD, Chun Wu, MD, Yongxing Zhang, MD, Lin He, MD, Rui Wang, MD, Jing Wang, MD, Mingxing Xie, MD, PhD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.37015/AUDT.2020.200018
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 2
pp. 60 – 66

Abstract

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Objective: To discuss the value of bedside ultrasound in the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19).Methods: Retrospective analysis of the results of bedside ultrasound of 510 patients with COVID-19 in our hospital was done from January 31, 2020 to March 4, 2020.Results: (1) Among the 510 patients who underwent bedside ultrasound examination, a total of 327 (64.1%) underwent echocardiography, 494 (96.9%) underwent bilateral venous ultrasound examination of lower limbs, 86 (16.9%) underwent bilateral artery ultrasound examination of lower limbs, 48 (9.4%) underwent ultrasound examination of liver, gallbladder, spleen and pancreas, 26 (5.1%) underwent ultrasound examination of kidney, ureter and bladder, and the numbers of patients who underwent ultrasound examination of pericardium, pleural effusion, and peritoneal effusion were 16 (3.1%), 21 (4.1%), and 5 (1%), respectively. (2) Among the 327 patients who underwent bedside ultrasound examination of the heart, 96 (29.4%) showed results of positive for other abnormalities or complications, in which 31 (9.5%) had abnormal left ventricular wall motion, 42 (12.8%) were with valvular heart disease, 3 (0.9%) showed coronary heart disease, 19 (5.8%) showed the enlargement of right heart with pulmonary hypertension (PAH), and 1 (0.3%) had congenital heart disease. In addition, 6 of the 327 echocardiography patients showed negative results (no other abnormalities or complications), accounting for 1.8%. (3) Among the 494 patients who underwent bilateral venous examination of lower limbs, 182 (36.8%) had phlebothrombosis. Eighty-six (86) patients underwent bilateral artery examination of lower limbs, and 63 (73%) of them had positive results, in which 5 patients showed arterial occlusion and the other 57 patients showed atherosclerosis. (4) Thirty-three (33) patients underwent ultrasound examination of liver, gallbladder, spleen, and pancreas, and 23 (70%) of them showed positive results. Among the 26 patients who underwent the urological examination, 7 (26.9%) showed positive results. Additionally, there are 2 positive findings in 21 patients who underwent the examination of pleural effusion (9.5%), and 1 positive case in 5 patients who underwent the examination of abdominal effusion (20%).Conclusion: Bedside ultrasound is important in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. We hope to make better use of bedside ultrasound to help clinicians get accurate diagnosis and treatment strategies.

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