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• lung ultrasound examination protocol for assessment of COVID-19 patients: Konrad Stock

• COVID-19 outbreak – the value of lung ultrasound for clinical decision making: Alessandro Zanforlin

Dr Alessandro Zanforlin: Mobile Lung ultrasound Unit, Radiodiology service, Bolzano hospital, Pneumological Service of South Tyrol writes

My interest on Chest ultrasound began in 2005 as I took part in the first Chest Ultrasound course for pulmonologists that took place in Bologna, then I completed the SIUMB general US theoretical/practical educational path.

After completing the specialisation in pulmonology, I worked as a pulmonologist in Internal medicine ward from 2009 to February 2020 with special attention on research on clinical applications of chest ultrasound: pleural disease, diaphragm motion analysis, lung diseases and began since 2011 the collaboration with italian network of chest ultrasound performed that in the last years is known as “Accademia di Ecografia Toracica (AdET)” – Chest Ultrasound Academy. Together, organising many US courses, we have contributed to the diffusion fo chest ultrasound in italy (documented by a recent survey amid italian pulmonologist that sowed large diffusion of the technique, in particular in Northern italy). Our network takes care of research on chest US and continuous education and knowledge sharing in particular through our facebook group (now it takes account of more than 3700 members) and national congresses (the last one took place right in Bolzano, my city on 25 January 2020, with 120 participants and many others more in overbooking…).

In February I was transferred to the pulmonology Service of the Province of Bolzano (respiratory outpatients). After the beginning of the COVID emergency in Bolzano, in order of my experience in Chest US, I was called back to the Hospital and engaged by the Radiology department as a “mobile lung ultrasound unit”, with the aim of helping in technology assessment, teaching chest US to other colleagues (Emergency department, Intensive Care Unit in particular) and organising the Chest US activity in the hospital.

After searching around the hospital all the US machines that were unused or underused because of COVID emergency, we redistributed the US apparels that were needed to activate the COVID-triage screening in the emergency department and for the new-COVID departments (normal COVID ward and COVID-ICU), to provide US empowerment of these wards and limit the US-machine movement between wards that would have been dangerous in terms of contamination.

Then my daily activity was to perform the LungUS evaluation of COVID-ICU patients and monitor their lung condition, and perform the Lung-US screening in the ED. In addition of the conduction of US examinations, I took care to teach to the colleague the technique, so that some of them became progressively independent, contributing in covering the activity also in my absence. We have now collected precious informations about the use of chest US in those settings (ED and ICU) and we are now elaborating the data to share them with the scientific community.

Publication History

Article published online:
08 June 2020

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