One year of Lung Ultrasound in children with SarsCoV2 infection admitted
to a tertiary referral children’s hospital: a retrospective,
single-center study, during 2020-2021 period.
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the lung ultrasound
(LUS) patterns in combination with clinical-laboratory profiles of
children hospitalized for COVID-19 infection in relation to temporal
trend of the Italian epidemic. Methods: This was a retrospective study
conducted at a pediatric tertiary referral hospital from 15th March 2020
to 15th March 2021. We compared the characteristics of two periods of
the pandemic outbreak, the first one in spring and summer (15th
March-30th September 2020) and the second one in autumn and winter (1st
October 2020-15th March 2021). Results: 28 patients (53.85%) were in
the first period, 24 patients (46.15%) were in the second period. The
disease severity score was significantly higher in the second period
(p=0.02). We observed that the occurrence of the irregular pleural line
was seen more frequently in the second period (87.5% vs 60.71%;
p=0.03). The B-lines were significantly more frequent in children in the
second period (87.5% vs 60%; p=0.03). The several but not-coalescent
B-lines were significantly more frequent in the second period (80% vs
41.7%; p=0.05). The LUS score correlated significantly with the disease
severity score with a strong relationship (r=0.51, p=0.002). The second
phase of the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak had a higher disease severity
score than the first phase with a moderate correlation (r= 0.42;
p=0.01). Conclusion: The LUS plays an important role in the evaluation
of pulmonary involvement in children affected by COVID-19 during
different periods of the pandemic in combination with
clinical-laboratory findings.