Search

Objective: To investigate the value of lung ultrasound (LUS) in asymptomatic patients with confirmed COVID-19.Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on nine patients in a designated isolation hospital in Sanya from February 22nd, 2020 to February 23rd, 2020. All patients were confirmed with COVID-19 pneumonia by PCR test, but none had the typical symptoms of COVID-19. All patients first underwent LUS examination and then chest computed tomography (CT) scanning. The application value of LUS in asymptomatic confirmed patients with COVID-19 was evaluated, compared with chest CT which was regarded as the golden standard.Results: Among nine asymptomatic patients with COVID-19, there were two cases (22.22%) with abnormal ultrasonic manifestations, of which one (11.11%) showed a fusion B3-line in zone 5 of the right lung, and the other showed localized pulmonary consolidation in zone 6 of the left lung. The remaining seven cases (77.78%) showed no abnormal changes in LUS, but only clear pleura sliding sign and A-line. Chest CT showed abnormal changes in three cases (33.33%). Two of them (22.22%) showed flocculent high-density shadow at the base of both lungs (especially in the right lung), while the other case showed ground-glass opacity with thickened interlobular septal in the left lower lobe, involving the pleura. There were no abnormalities on chest CT of the remaining six cases (66.67%). The two (22.22%) LUS-positive patients were in complete coincidence with CT-positive patients. This study showed that the coincidence rate of the two examination methods was 88.89%. Taking chest CT as golden standard, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and Kappa value of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of COVID-19 were 66.67%, 100%, 100%, 85.71%, and 0.727, respectively.Conclusion: LUS can evaluate lung lesions in asymptomatic patients with COVID-19. Compared with chest CT, the diagnostic coincidence rate and diagnostic consistency of LUS are relatively higher. For this asymptomatic type of patient, ultrasound can be used as a diagnosis method, which can avoid the risk of radiation exposure in a short period of time. As a rapid and dynamic assessment method, LUS can cooperate with remote consultation to provide timely and accurate guidance for clinical diagnosis and treatment when necessary.

Purpose This study aimed at to comparing the effectiveness of portable ultrasound guided REBOA vs. traditional manual extracorporeal compression in stopping iliac artery hemostasis. Methods Twelve swine were included in this study (treatment group vs. control group, 6:6). A biopsy device was used to create an iliac artery rupture and hemorrhage in each swine. After 30 s of bleeding, the treatment group received REBOA under the guidance of ultrasound, whereas the control group received traditional manual extracorporeal compression. General physiological conditions were recorded at 0 s (baseline, T1), 30 s (initiation of therapies to stop bleeding, T2), 10 min (T3) and 30 min (T4) after bleeding. Intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal hemorrhage and specimens of iliac artery were collected after all swine were euthanized. Results One swine was excluded because of accidental death not related to the experiment; thus, 11 swine were analyzed in this study. The general physiological characteristics of the two groups showed no difference at T1. Hemorrhagic shock occurred in both groups. After the hemostatic procedure was performed, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and heart rate first increased significantly between T2 and T3, and then became stable between T3 and T4; these indicators in the control group deteriorated over time. The total blood loss in the treatment group (1245.23 ± 190.07 g) was much significantly less than that in the control group (2605.63 ± 291.67 g) with p Conclusions Performing REBOA under the guidance of portable ultrasound is an effective way to stop bleeding. It suggests a potential alternative method for iliac artery hemostasis in the pre-hospital setting.

Background: The major challenge of applying Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA) in the pre-hospital setting is to accurately place the balloon in. To evaluate the effects of applying portable ultrasound to guide REBOA for iliac artery hemostasis.Methods: We first established a swine model of hemorrhage by percutaneously puncture the right iliac artery under the guidance of portable ultrasound. Then we randomly divided the swine into two groups. We recorded systolic pressure (SP), diastolic pressure (DP), heart rate (HR), and the maximum depth of the ascites at baseline (T1), free bleeding for the 30s (T2), bleeding for 10min (T3), and bleeding for 30min (T4). Immediately after T2, we performed REBOA under the guidance of portable ultrasound in the intervention group and manual extracorporeal compression by dry gauze in the control group. We collected total blood loss at T4.Results: There were 11 swine included in the analysis (intervention group=6, control group=5). The characteristics of the two groups were similar at T1. After punctured the right iliac artery, hemorrhagic shock appeared in both groups at T2 - BP and DP fell, HR elevated, and the maximum depth of the ascites increased. After performing REBOA, SP(in mmHg) in the intervention group significantly increased to 97.17±11.92 at T3 and remained stable throughout T4; while SP in the control group kept decreasing and reached 62.40±3.44 at T4. A similar trend was found in DP. HR(in bpm) in the intervention group increased from 101.50±5.39 in T2 to 111.83±7.39 in T3 and stabilized at 113.83±5.49 in T4; in the control group, it kept increasing from 103.20±3.70 in T2 to 132.40±3.98 in T4. The maximum depth of the ascites increased between T2 and T4 in both groups, but significantly slower in the intervention group (at T4 3.50±0.36cm vs 5.14±0.35cm, PConclusions: Performing REBOA under the guidance of portable ultrasound can improve the effectiveness of iliac artery hemostasis and have great potential to save lives in pre-hospital settings.

Background Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common chronic joint disease with serious health economic burden. More and more randomized controlled trials have indicated that traditional Chinese non-pharmacological therapy, including acupuncture, Tai Chi, Tuina, etc can significantly improve pain and physical function of patients with KOA. However, the effects of traditional Chinese non-pharmacological therapy for KOA remain controversial. Most previous systematic reviews did not focus on the effects of traditional Chinese non-pharmacological therapy for KOA as a whole. In Chinese community hospital, however, acupuncture, Tuina, and Tai Chi are usually in the management of KOA as whole-body treatment. Methods The electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database, and Wanfang Data) will be searched. The search will include all documents from their inception to December 2021. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias by the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for randomized controlled trials. The meta-analysis will be conducted with a random or fixed effect model to calculate the standardized mean difference and 95% confidence intervals based on different heterogeneity using the Review Manager Version 5.3 software. The heterogeneity will be examined by Higgins I2 statistic. The subgroup analysis will be conducted based on different types of traditional Chinese non-pharmacological therapy and different outcomes. Quality of evidence will be assessed using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation. Results The current systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted to investigate the effects of traditional Chinese non-pharmacological therapy in the management of KOA. The main outcomes will include pain and disability. The secondary outcomes will include quality of life and adverse events. Conclusion To provide evidence for evidence-based medicine and clinical researchers to choose more effective traditional Chinese non-pharmacological therapy for KOA. Inplasy registration number INPLASY202170098.

Objective: To investigate the application of remote ultrasound in COVID-19 isolation ward.Methods: Two patients with suspected COVID-19 were admitted to the isolation ward in critical condition. In the isolation ward, the intensive care unit (ICU) physician used ultrasound to evaluate patients’ heart, lung, abdomen, blood volume, and lower limb veins, guided by an ultrasound expert in remote.Results: (1) Under the guidance of the ultrasound expert, the ICU physician successfully performed ultrasound examination and gathered clear images. (2) The main manifestations of the patients’ lung lesions were multiple B3-lines in both lungs fused to “white lung” and pulmonary consolidation in the subpleural area. A small amount of effusion was observed in the bilateral costal diaphragmatic angle and left lower extremity vein thrombosis was found in patient No.1. Ultrasound was also used to assess the inner diameter and respiratory variability of the inferior vena cava for adjusting fluid supplementation. Patient No.1’s condition was severe with rapidly progressing pulmonary lesions. After treatment, ultrasound showed improvement in pneumonia and disappearance of pleural effusion and the left lower extremity vein thrombosis. (3) There was a high degree of consistency between ultrasound and chest computerized tomography (CT) findings in two patients.Conclusion: The application of remote ultrasound can reduce the risk of cross-infection and save the personal protective equipment in the COVID-19 outbreak. Ultrasound experts can also provide real-time guidance for ICU physician to maintain a good quality of patient care and receive high-quality images for accurate diagnosis.

Although the outbreak in China has been effectively controlled, the international situation of prevention and control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still poses a serious public health risk. COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) due to its highly contagious nature, rapid transmission, swift clinical course, profound worldwide impact, and high mortality among critically ill patients. COVID-19 is mainly transmitted by respiratory droplets and contact routes, which could be effectively prevented by proper medical equipment and hand hygiene. However, due to the lack of effective protective measures and personal protective equipment of healthcare personnel in some area, the infectious rate of COVID-19 remains high, especially in clinical settings. At present, due to its portability and accuracy, ultrasound has been playing an indispensable role in the diagnosis, evaluation, and follow-up of COVID-19 patients, especially those in severe conditions. In the course of diagnosis and treatment, because sonographers often work closely with patients, coupled with the increasing number of patients and relatively poor ventilation in the working area, the risk of occupational exposure is undoubtedly high. This article combined the standard precaution methods with current Chinese government's COVID-19 strategy and polices, aiming to provide suggestions on the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic for ultrasound professionals.