First experience of lung ultrasound application in patients with acute viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2

The purpose of the study was the estimation of lung ultrasound examination characteristic in patients with a new COVID-19 virus infection in the infectious Department.

Materials and methods. 52 patients (male 29, middle age 51.2 ± 3.4) with an established coronavirus infection caused by the COVID-19 virus were participated in the research. The severity of the patients’ clinical condition was assessed by the NEWS scale. An ultrasound lungs examination was performed on the 1st day an ESAOTE MyLab 70 (Italy) device with S 3–5 MHz Probe. Ultrasound scanning was performed along the main topographic lines (midthoracic, anterior, middle and posterior axillary, scapular lines in the longitudinal and transverse planes).

Results. Pathological ultrasound signs of lung tissue damage were determined in COVID–19 patients. Multiple B-lines were detected in all patients (100%): in 34 cases – merging B-lines, in 18 cases – scattered B-lines. Changes of the pleural line structure were visualized in all cases: thickening of more than 2 mm – in 33 cases, and discontinuous contours – in 25 cases. Нydrothorax was determined in 39 cases (75%); marginal zones of lung consolidation – in all patients (100%): homogeneous consolidations were observed in 38 cases (73.0%); heterogeneous consolidations (26%) – in 14 cases.

Conclusions. Ultrasound lung scanning is an assistive method viral pneumonia diagnosing caused by the new COVID-19 coronavirus. The method can be applied in clinical situations where there is a mild course of the disease, if it is impossible to perform the research and to monitor patients who are on a ventilator. The advantages of the method include the ability to obtain a dynamic image in online mode, the ability to conduct research in the patient's bed. In addition, ultrasound scanning of lung tissue, in contrast to CT of the lungs, has an advantage in recognizing interstitial lesions and displays the distribution of blood flow in tissues with an assessment of the degree of angiogenesis in inflammatory viral lung lesions.

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