About this Research Topic
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed modern-day life as we knew it and poses an unprecedented challenge to global healthcare systems. Around the world, healthcare practitioners and emergency departments (EDs) were the first to respond to the pandemic, followed shortly afterward by medical wards and intensive care units (ICUs). However, resources are limited, and the lockdown was shown to be the most effective way to counteract the spread of COVID-19 during its first wave. Now, we must fight the second wave.
The first months of the pandemic saw lung ultrasound brought into the spotlight as an important diagnostic tool for interstitial pneumonia related to COVID-19. Thereafter, it has also been recognized as a useful tool for monitoring patient progression and for identifying and assessing the severity of different pulmonary conditions.
As a consequence, lung ultrasound has reduced the use of both chest X-rays and computed tomography (CT). An important knock-on effect has been the reduced exposure of other healthcare workers outside COVID-19 designated (“red”) areas, lung ultrasound being a point-of-care technique. However, before these lung ultrasound-associated benefits can be maximally exploited, prospective evidence, definitions and skills all need to be developed further and shared.
The goal of this Research Topic is to describe the roles of lung ultrasound in different medical settings within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, from out-of-hospital settings to intensive care units.
Topics which will be welcomed in this collection include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Lung ultrasound for out-of-hospital patient evaluation and ED triage
• Lung ultrasound for predicting clinical deterioration
• Lung ultrasound for aeration monitoring in mechanically ventilated patients
• Lung ultrasound for timing successful weaning in COVID-19 patients
• Lung ultrasound after recovery from COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia
The first months of the pandemic saw lung ultrasound brought into the spotlight as an important diagnostic tool for interstitial pneumonia related to COVID-19. Thereafter, it has also been recognized as a useful tool for monitoring patient progression and for identifying and assessing the severity of different pulmonary conditions.
As a consequence, lung ultrasound has reduced the use of both chest X-rays and computed tomography (CT). An important knock-on effect has been the reduced exposure of other healthcare workers outside COVID-19 designated (“red”) areas, lung ultrasound being a point-of-care technique. However, before these lung ultrasound-associated benefits can be maximally exploited, prospective evidence, definitions and skills all need to be developed further and shared.
The goal of this Research Topic is to describe the roles of lung ultrasound in different medical settings within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, from out-of-hospital settings to intensive care units.
Topics which will be welcomed in this collection include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Lung ultrasound for out-of-hospital patient evaluation and ED triage
• Lung ultrasound for predicting clinical deterioration
• Lung ultrasound for aeration monitoring in mechanically ventilated patients
• Lung ultrasound for timing successful weaning in COVID-19 patients
• Lung ultrasound after recovery from COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia
Keywords: Lung Ultrasound, COVID-19, ARDS, Mechanical Ventilation, Interstitial Pneumonia
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
