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. 2022 Jan 21:8:768261.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.768261. eCollection 2021.

Lung Ultrasound Signs and Their Correlation With Clinical Symptoms in COVID-19 Pregnant Women: The "PINK-CO" Observational Study

Luigi Vetrugno  1   2 , Alessia Sala  1   3 , Daniele Orso  1   2 , Francesco Meroi  1   2 , Sebastiano Fabbro  1 , Enrico Boero  4 , Francesca Valent  5 , Gianmaria Cammarota  6 , Stefano Restaino  3 , Giuseppe Vizzielli  3 , Rossano Girometti  1   7 , Maria Merelli  8 , Carlo Tascini  1   8 , Tiziana Bove  1   2 , Lorenza Driul  1   3 ; PINK-CO study investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations

Lung Ultrasound Signs and Their Correlation With Clinical Symptoms in COVID-19 Pregnant Women: The "PINK-CO" Observational Study

Luigi Vetrugno et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the application of lung ultrasound (LUS) diagnostic approach in obstetric patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and compare LUS score and symptoms of the patients.

Design: A single-center observational retrospective study from October 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

Setting: Department of Ob/Gyn at the University-Hospital of Udine, Italy.

Participants: Pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 diagnosed with reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) swab test were subdivided as symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with COVID-19.

Exposure: Lung ultrasound evaluation both through initial evaluation upon admission and through serial evaluations.

Main outcome: Reporting LUS findings and LUS score characteristics.

Results: Symptomatic patients with COVID-19 showed a higher LUS (median 3.5 vs. 0, p < 0.001). LUS was significantly correlated with COVID-19 biomarkers as C-reactive protein (CPR; p = 0.011), interleukin-6 (p = 0.013), and pro-adrenomedullin (p = 0.02), and inversely related to arterial oxygen saturation (p = 0.004). The most frequent ultrasound findings were focal B lines (14 vs. 2) and the light beam (9 vs. 0).

Conclusion: Lung ultrasound can help to manage pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection during a pandemic surge.

Study registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04823234. Registered on March 29, 2021.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; lung ultrasound; lung ultrasound score (LUS); pregnant women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The LUS score was calculated dividing each hemithorax into six regions and represented in the specific obstetric population (A–C) in the following zone: anterior-superior (I), anteroinferior (II), lateral-superior (III), lateral-inferior (IV), posterior-superior (V), posterior-inferior (VI). Details in the main text. LUS, lung ultrasound.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flowchart of enrollment of COVID-19 pregnant women in University Hospital of Udine from October 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of LUS score (LUS1) values between symptomatic COVID-19 patients group (sCOVID-19) and asymptomatic group (nsCOVID-19) (p < 0.001). LUS, lung ultrasound.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Difference between LUS values at the three times of ultrasound evaluation (LUS1 = at time zero, at admission, LUS 2 = after 2 days and LUS3 = after 7 days). The difference is significant for the first two evaluations (respectively, p < 0.001 and p = 0.034) but not for the third evaluation (p = 0.062). LUS, lung ultrasound.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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