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

• Main Authors: Hayato Taniguchi, Souichi Ohta, Hiroshi Honzawa, Kouhei Takahashi, Masayuki Iwashita, Takeru Abe, Ichiro Takeuchi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-01-01
• Series: Respiratory Medicine Case Reports
• Subjects: Coronavirus disease; Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; Lung ultrasound; Patient self-inflicted lung injury; Point-of-care ultrasound
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007121000459
• ISSN: 2213-0071

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.