Lacedonia Donato, Quarato Carla Maria Irene, Mirijello Antonio, Trovato Guglielmo M, Del Colle Anna, Rea Gaetano, Scioscia Giulia, Foschino Barbaro Maria Pia, Sperandeo Marco
COVID-19 Center, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Policlinico Universitario "Riuniti" di Foggia, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
COVID-19 Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Fondazione Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Aug 25;8:709402. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.709402. eCollection 2021.
The pandemic spread of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has raised the necessity to identify an appropriate imaging method for early diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Chest computed tomography (CT) has been regarded as the mainstay of imaging evaluation for pulmonary involvement in the early phase of the pandemic. However, due to the poor specificity of the radiological pattern and the disruption of radiology centers' functionality linked to an excessive demand for exams, the American College of Radiology has advised against CT use for screening purposes. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a point-of-care imaging tool that is quickly available and easy to disinfect. These advantages have determined a "pandemic" increase of its use for early detection of COVID-19 pneumonia in emergency departments. However, LUS findings in COVID-19 patients are even less specific than those detectable on CT scans. The scope of this perspective article is to discuss the great number of diseases and pathologic conditions that may mimic COVID-19 pneumonia on LUS examination.
新型严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2的大流行，使得有必要确定一种合适的成像方法用于2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的早期诊断。胸部计算机断层扫描（CT）在疫情早期一直被视为肺部受累影像学评估的主要手段。然而，由于放射学表现的特异性较差，以及与检查需求过多相关的放射科功能中断，美国放射学会已建议不要将CT用于筛查目的。肺部超声（LUS）是一种即时床旁成像工具，可快速获取且易于消毒。这些优点使得其在急诊科用于早期检测COVID-19肺炎的“大流行”式使用增加。然而，COVID-19患者的LUS表现比CT扫描检测到的表现更缺乏特异性。这篇观点文章的目的是讨论在LUS检查中可能酷似COVID-19肺炎的大量疾病和病理状况。
