Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2025
Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: March 3, 2023
A Modified Corona Score Using Lung Ultrasound to Identify COVID-19 Patients
Costantino Caroselli1, Michael Blaivas2, Yale Tung Chen3
1Acute Geriatric Unit, Geriatric Emergency Room and Aging Research Centre IRCCS INRCA, 60127 Ancona, Italy.
Insights
Modified corona scoring methods using lung ultrasound (LUS) show promise for diagnosing COVID-19, especially in resource-limited settings. LUS alone improved diagnostic performance, offering a valuable alternative to chest X-rays (CXRs).
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Infectious Disease Diagnostics
- Point-of-Care Ultrasound
Background:
- COVID-19 remains a global health concern with ongoing circulation of various strains.
- Accessible and alternative diagnostic methods are crucial, especially in out-of-hospital settings and low-resource regions.
- Traditional testing methods may have limitations in availability and accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the diagnostic performance of traditional and modified corona score methods for identifying COVID-19.
- To evaluate the utility of lung ultrasound (LUS) and chest X-ray (CXR) in these scoring systems.
- To assess the effectiveness of LUS-based scoring in resource-limited scenarios.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective multicenter study comparing traditional corona score with two modified versions (M1CS including LUS and CXR, M2CS using LUS only).
- Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) and physical examinations were performed by emergency physicians.
- Nasopharyngeal swabs were used for SARS-CoV-2 testing.
Main Results:
- Significant differences were observed in corona scores and modified scores between SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative groups (p < 0.001).
- SARS-CoV-2 positive patients exhibited specific clinical and imaging findings, including fewer pleural irregularities and more interstitial patterns on CXR.
- Modified corona scores, particularly M2CS using LUS alone, demonstrated strong predictive ability.
Conclusions:
- Lung ultrasound (LUS) significantly contributes to and enhances the performance of corona scoring for COVID-19 diagnosis.
- LUS alone, without CXR, offers comparable diagnostic performance, making it suitable for resource-limited settings.
- Ultrasound can serve as a sole imaging modality for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia where CXRs are inaccessible or costly.
Background:
COVID-19 continues to circulate around the world with multiple different strains being active at once. While diagnosis with antigen and molecular testing is more readily available, there is still room for alternative methods of diagnosis, particularly in out-of-hospital settings, e.g., home or nursing homes, and in low-medium income countries, where testing may not be readily available.
Study Objectives:
To evaluate the performance of two modified corona score methods compared with a traditional corona score approach to identify patients with COVID-19.
Methods:
This was a retrospective multicenter study performed to compare the ability to predict SARS-CoV-2 test results on a nasopharyngeal swab between the corona scores and two novel corona scores (modified 1 corona score (M1CS) and modified 2 corona score (M2CS)). The M1CS included lung ultrasound (LUS) and chest X-ray (CXR) results, while the M2SC only utilized LUS findings without CXRs. Emergency physicians performed point-of-care LUS and a physical examination upon admission to the emergency department.
Results:
Subjects positive for SARS-CoV-2 were older and had higher ferritin levels and temperature and lower diastolic blood pressure and oxygen saturation. The two groups differed on corona score and modified corona scores (p < 0.001 for all). SARS-CoV-2-positive patients had fewer pleural line irregularities (p = 0.025) but presented more frequently with an interstitial pattern on CXRs (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
In our study, LUS alone provided a valuable contribution to the corona score and improved its performance more than when CXR results were included. These results suggest that resource-limited areas where CXRs may be unavailable or prohibitively expensive can utilize an ultrasound as the sole imaging modality without a loss of diagnostic performance for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia diagnosis.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:27Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-IV: Assessement and Diagnostic Studies
Medical History
01:19Assessing Blood pressure using a doppler ultrasound
Pre-Procedural Guidelines for Doppler Ultrasound Blood Pressure Assessment:
Preparation of Equipment:
01:17Ultrasonography
During an ultrasonography procedure, a handheld device called...
01:25Pulmonary Function Tests
Pulmonary Function Tests are crucial diagnostic tools for assessing respiratory function, particularly in patients with chronic respiratory disorders. They comprehensively evaluate lung volumes, ventilatory function, breathing mechanics, diffusion, and gas exchange. These tests help diagnose pulmonary diseases and play a significant role in monitoring disease progression, evaluating disability, and assessing response to therapy.
PFTs involve using a spirometer, a...
01:31Respiratory System Abnormal Finding II: Palpation and Auscultation
Palpation Findings
During a respiratory assessment, palpation can reveal several vital abnormalities:
01:19Respiratory Assessment: Purpose and Indications
Objectives and Importance:
The primary goal of respiratory assessment is to evaluate patients at early risk of clinical deterioration. Since respiratory distress often precedes other signs of declining health, breathing patterns and sounds become a...