Abstract:

Objective To investigate the ultrasonographic features of peripulmonary lesion of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) patients in different period of onset, and to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and efficacy evaluation. Methods Retrospective analysis was conducted in the 15 patients with COVID-19 diagnosed clinically in our hospital from January to February 2020. Among them, 3 patients were in early stage, 10 patients were in advanced stage and 2 patients were in severe stage. All patients were examined by two-dimensional ultrasound and color doppler ultrasound to observe the image characteristics of lesions under ultrasound imaging. Results (1) The main manifestations of ultrasound were that the pleura line was not smooth or interrupted, resulting in solid shadows and visible “B” line. The incidence of the above three ultrasonic imaging changes was 100.00% (15/15), bronchiectasis in solid lesions was 66.67% (10/15) and pleural thickening was 53.33% (8/15). (2) There were different characteristics in different stages of the disease. It was occasionally seen that the peripulmonary pleura line was rough in the early stage of the disease. In the advanced stage, the pleura line of the patients was rough and partial interruption, at the same time several B lines could be seen and the position of B line was fixed, in some patients subpleural patchy pulmonary consolidation could be seen. In the severe stage, beside the characteristics of common patients, interruption and disappearance of pleura line, large irregular consolidation shadow under pleura and a large number of fusion B line were observed, as well as bronchiectasis in the consolidation area. At the same time, the adjacent pleura had local thickening. Color doppler flow imaging (CDFI) in the focal consolidation area showed lack of blood flow signals. Conclusion The ultrasound images of patients with COVID-19 have certain characteristics imaging manifestations at different stages of disease progression, which can provide basis for clinical diagnosis and efficacy evaluation.

Key words: Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19), Ultrasonography, Diagnostic imaging, Disease attributes