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. 2022 Dec 26;13(1):70.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13010070.

One-Year Follow-Up Lung Ultrasound of Post-COVID Syndrome-A Pilot Study

Martin Altersberger  1 , Anna Grafeneder  1 , Yerin Cho  1 , Roland Winkler  2 , Ralf Harun Zwick  3 , Gebhard Mathis  4 , Martin Genger  1
Affiliations

One-Year Follow-Up Lung Ultrasound of Post-COVID Syndrome-A Pilot Study

Martin Altersberger et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

(1) Background: Millions of people worldwide were infected with COVID-19. After the acute phase of the disease, many suffer from prolonged symptoms, the post-COVID syndrome, especially the phenotype with lung residuals. Many open questions regarding lung ultrasound (LUS) have to be answered. One essential question is the means for optimal following-up of patients with post-COVID-19 residuals with LUS; (2) Methods: A retrospective data analysis of patients after acute COVID-19 infection diagnosed with post-COVID syndrome in the state hospital of Steyr and the rehabilitation center of Hochegg was performed. LUS examinations following a 12-zone scanning protocol were performed, and the LUS score quantified comet tail artifacts. A total of 16 patients were evaluated twice with LUS from May 2020 until June 2021. (3) Results: All patients’ reverberation artifacts were reduced over time. The initial LUS score of 17.75 (SD 4.84) points was decreased over the duration of the second rehabilitation to 8,2 (SD 5.94). The difference in the Wilcoxon test was significant (p < 0.001); (4) Conclusions: Lung ultrasound was a valuable tool in the follow-up of post-COVID-syndrome with lung residuals in the first wave of COVID-19. A reduction in reverberation artifacts was demonstrated. Further studies about the clinical significance have to follow.

Keywords: COVID-19; LUS; lung ultrasound; post-COVID-syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The 12-zone scanning protocol, as suggested by the Austrian Society of Pneumonology and the Austrian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Two normal examples with smooth pleural lines and no reverberation artifacts in post-COVID patients.
Figure 3
Figure 3
On the left side is a normal image of LUS in post-COVID, and on the right is an irregular pleural line with comet tail artifacts shown.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Two areas with small consolidations, including the measurement in the images. On the left side, there is zone four of the left hemithorax (L4), showing an irregular pleural line and a consolidation. On the right side is zone two on the left hemithorax (L2).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Total LUS scores of 16 patients in the respective zones in the first evaluation/ (b) Total LUS scores of 16 patients in the respective zones in the follow-up evaluation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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