Usefulness of serial lung ultrasound for a severe COVID-19 patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Hayato Taniguchi; Souichi Ohta; Hiroshi Honzawa; Kouhei Takahashi; Masayuki Iwashita; Takeru Abe; Ichiro Takeuchi

doi:10.1016/j.rmcr.2021.101383

Usefulness of serial lung ultrasound for a severe COVID-19 patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Respir Med Case Rep. 2021:33:101383. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2021.101383. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Authors

Hayato Taniguchi¹, Souichi Ohta¹, Hiroshi Honzawa¹, Kouhei Takahashi¹, Masayuki Iwashita¹, Takeru Abe¹, Ichiro Takeuchi¹

Affiliation

¹ Advanced Critical Care and Emergency Center, Yokohama City University Medical Center, 4-57 Urafunecho, Minamiku, Yokohama, Japan.

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) is the most reliable method to evaluate the progression of COVID-19 pneumonitis. However, in a pandemic, transportation of critically ill invasively ventilated patients to radiology facilities is challenging, especially for those on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Notably, lung ultrasound (LUS) is a favored alternative imaging modality due to its ease of use at the point of care, which reduces the infectious risk of exposure and transmission; repeatability; absence of radiation exposure; and low cost. We demonstrated that serial LUS compares favorably with other imaging modalities in terms of usefulness for evaluating lung aeration and recovery in an ECMO-managed COVID-19 patient.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease; Lung ultrasound; Patient self-inflicted lung injury; Point-of-care ultrasound; Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Publication types

Case Reports