Evaluation Of Clinico-Radiological Profile And Correlation With Ultrasonography Of The Chest In Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pneumonia

Background: The present study was undertaken to investigate imaging features of emerging coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia by chest ultrasound point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) and digital radiographs (chest radiograph [CXR]) and their correlation with clinical manifestation and severity of the disease. Methods: The present ongoing single-center study assessed patients admitted from April 20 to May 15, 2020, with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia at SMS Medical College Hospital, Jaipur, India. The clinical features, laboratory investigations, CXR, and POCUS findings were evaluated and compared. Results: Fifty-two patients with a manifestation of COVID-19 pneumonia were studied. Most of the patients were in the fifth and sixth decade of age group with a mean age of 56.57 years. There was an overall male preponderance (80% men and only 20% women). All pneumonitis patients were symptomatic with fever (88.46%), cough (82.69%), and dyspnea (55.77%) being the major symptoms. Thirty-four patients had underlying comorbid conditions. The digital radiograph-chest findings of 55.77% patients exhibited classic COVID-19 pneumonia findings. The ultrasonography of the chest findings revealed pleural and lungs changes in 94% of patients with COVID-19-positive pneumonia. CURB-65 score for the severity of pneumonia had a positive correlation with POCUS severity score and CXR visual score with P = 0.0013 and 0.0018, respectively. The duration of some major symptoms for COVID-19 pneumonia also had a positive correlation with the POCUS severity score and CXR visual score. Conclusion: The spectrum of COVID-19 pneumonia has a predilection for advancing age and male gender. Although both POCUS and CXR are important tools to detect severity of pneumonia, POCUS has higher sensitivity as compared to that of CXR to detect characteristics of COVID-19 pneumonia, especially interstitial involvement or acute respiratory distress syndrome.