Table 3.
LUS Characteristics of patients with COVID-19 according to LUS score
| Variables | Total population (n = 280) | LUS score | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low 0–1 (n = 153) | Moderate 2–12 (n = 70) | High > 12 (n = 57) | |||
| LUS features | |||||
| Pleural line, n (%) | |||||
| Normal pleural line | 181 (64.6) | 152 (99.3) | 29 (41.4) | 0 (0.0) | < 0.001 |
| Irregular pleural line | 99 (35.4) | 1 (0.7) | 41 (58.6) | 57 (100.0) | < 0.001 |
| Blurred pleural line | 31 (11.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 31 (54.4) | < 0.001 |
| B-lines, n (%) | |||||
| Well-spaced B-lines < 3 | 250 (89.3) | 153 (100.0) | 70 (100.0) | 27 (47.4) | < 0.001 |
| Well-spaced B-lines ≥ 3 | 176 (62.9) | 49 (32.0) | 70 (100.0) | 57 (100.0) | < 0.001 |
| Multiple coalescent B-lines | 34 (12.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.4) | 33 (57.9) | < 0.001 |
| Consolidation, n (%) | 46 (16.4) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (4.3) | 43 (75.4) | < 0.001 |
| Pleural effusion, n (%) | 5 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (8.8) | < 0.001 |
| Distribution of abnormal LUS features | |||||
| Irregular pleural line | |||||
| Anterior fields | 55 (19.6) | 1 (0.7) | 8 (11.4) | 46 (80.7) | < 0.001 |
| Lateral fields | 50 (17.9) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (7.1) | 45 (78.9) | < 0.001 |
| Posterior fields | 76 (27.1) | 0 (0.0) | 31 (44.3) | 45 (78.9) | < 0.001 |
| No. of involved zones | 0 [0 ~ 2] | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 1 [0 ~ 2] | 6 [4 ~ 10] | < 0.001 |
| Blurred pleural line | |||||
| Anterior fields | 4 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (7.0) | 0.002 |
| Lateral fields | 16 (5.7) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 16 (28.1) | < 0.001 |
| Posterior fields | 28 (10.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 28 (49.1) | < 0.001 |
| No. of involved zones | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 1 [0 ~ 3] | < 0.001 |
| Well-spaced B-lines ≥ 3 | |||||
| Anterior fields | 100 (35.7) | 14 (9.2) | 30 (42.9) | 56 (98.2) | < 0.001 |
| Lateral fields | 109 (38.9) | 9 (5.9) | 44 (62.9) | 56 (98.2) | < 0.001 |
| Posterior fields | 139 (49.6) | 26 (17.0) | 56 (80.0) | 57 (100.0) | < 0.001 |
| No. of involved zones | 1 [0 ~ 4] | 0 [0 ~ 1] | 3 [2 ~ 4] | 9 [7 ~ 11] | < 0.001 |
| Multiple coalescent B-lines | |||||
| Anterior fields | 33 (11.8) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.4) | 32 (56.1) | < 0.001 |
| Lateral fields | 32 (11.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 32 (56.1) | < 0.001 |
| Posterior fields | 34 (12.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.4) | 33 (57.9) | < 0.001 |
| No. of involved zones | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 1 [0 ~ 3] | < 0.001 |
| Consolidation | |||||
| Anterior fields | 17 (6.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 17 (29.8) | < 0.001 |
| Lateral fields | 25 (8.9) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.4) | 24 (42.1) | < 0.001 |
| Posterior fields | 41 (14.6) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (2.9) | 39 (68.4) | < 0.001 |
| No. of involved zones | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 0 [0 ~ 0] | 2 [1 ~ 5] | < 0.001 |
| Left lung involved, n (%) | 139 (49.6) | 26 (17.0) | 56 (80.0) | 57 (100.0) | < 0.001 |
| Right lung involved, n (%) | 140 (50.0) | 23 (15.0) | 60 (85.7) | 57 (100.0) | < 0.001 |
| Bilateral involved, n (%) | 103 (36.8) | 0 (0.0) | 46 (65.7) | 57 (100.0) | < 0.001 |
Data are n (%) or median [ IQR]. p values comparing patients with COVID-19 in different groups and normal control participants are from χ [2] test, or Mann–Whitney U test. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant; LUS, lung ultrasonography; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019