Aim: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) represents the diagnostic gold standard We explored the value of chest ultrasonography to predict positivity to SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR in suspected COVID-19 cases Patients & methods: Consecutive patients with suspect COVID-19 were included if they had fever and/or history of cough and/or dyspnea Lung ultrasound score (LUSS) was computed according to published methods Results: A total of 76 patients were included A 3-variable model based on aspartate transaminase (AST) &gt; upper limit of normal, LUSS &gt;12 and body temperature &gt;37 5 degrees C yielded an overall accuracy of 91% Conclusion: A simple LUSS-based model may represent a powerful tool for initial assessment in suspected cases of COVID-19 Lay abstract: The gold standard for diagnosis of COVID-19 is RT-PCR During a pandemic emergency, it may be useful to identify suspect symptomatic patients who may safely be observed without undergoing testing for COVID-19 In this work, a simple model based on the findings of lung ultrasound, AST levels and fever showed an overall accuracy of 91% to predict the results of RT-PCR
The use of chest ultrasonography in suspected cases of COVID-19 in the emergency department