The use of chest ultrasonography in suspected cases of COVID-19 in the emergency department.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Allegorico E; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Buonerba C; Department of Oncology & Hematology, Regional Reference Center for Rare Tumors, AOU Federico II of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy.; Centro di Referenza Nazionale per l'Analisi e Studio di Correlazione tra Ambiente, Animale e Uomo, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, 80055, Portici (Na), Italy.; Bosso G; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Pagano A; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Porta G; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Serra C; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Dolce P; Department of Public Health, Federico II University, 80131 Naples, Italy.; Minerva V; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Vicario FD; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Altruda C; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Arbo P; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Russo T; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Sio C; Department of Medical & Surgical Sciences, Università della Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', 80131 Naples, Italy.; Franco N; Internal Medicine, AOU Federico II of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy.; Ruffa G; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Mormile C; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Cannavacciuolo F; A.O.R.N.'San Giuseppe Moscati', Internal Medicine Department, 83100 Avellino, Italy.; Mercurio V; Department of Public Health, Federico II University, 80131 Naples, Italy.; Gervasio G; Department of Diagnostic Imaging 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Costanzo GD; Department of Diagnostic Imaging 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Ragozzino A; Department of Diagnostic Imaging 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.; Scafuri L; Department of Clinical Medicine & Surgery, University Federico II of Naples, Via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy.; Facchini G; Department of Hospital Medicine, Unit of Medical Oncology, ASL Napoli 2 Nord, 'S.M. delle Grazie' Hospital, Pozzuoli (NA), Italy.; Numis F; Department of Emergency Medicine 'Santa Maria delle Grazie' Hospital, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.
- Source
- Publisher: Future Science Group Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101665030 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 2056-5623 (Print) Linking ISSN: 20565623 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Future Sci OA Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2056-5623
Aim: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) represents the diagnostic gold standard. We explored the value of chest ultrasonography to predict positivity to SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR in suspected COVID-19 cases.
Patients & Methods: Consecutive patients with suspect COVID-19 were included if they had fever and/or history of cough and/or dyspnea. Lung ultrasound score (LUSS) was computed according to published methods.
Results: A total of 76 patients were included. A 3-variable model based on aspartate transaminase (AST) > upper limit of normal, LUSS >12 and body temperature >37.5°C yielded an overall accuracy of 91%.
Conclusion: A simple LUSS-based model may represent a powerful tool for initial assessment in suspected cases of COVID-19.
Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure C Buonerba is a member of the Future Science OA Editorial Board. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
(© 2020 Enrico Allegorico.)