PMC7550954_01
((a) and (b)) Chest CT images of this patient showed multiple ground-glass opacities in
both lungs, mainly in the subpleural areas (red arrows). The patient's lung ultrasound
(LUS) images during the hospitalization. ((c) and (d)) The pleural line is interrupted
by some visible small consolidations (red triangle) and thick irregular vertical
artifacts (yellow arrows) on the first day. ((e) and (f)) There were more visible small
consolidations, thick irregular vertical artifacts and areas of white lung (yellow
arrows) with the progress of the disease on the fifth day. ((g) and (h)) Less small
consolidations, thick irregular vertical artifacts and areas of white lung were observed
with the improvement of disease on the tenth day. After recovery from COVID-19 pneumonia
on the fifteenth day, (i) LUS shows normal images, the bat sign: the ribs (red circle)
and the pleural line (red triangle) outline a silhouette reminiscent of a bat and the
A-line: inside the merlin space, a repetition of the pleural line is seen (yellow
triangle), occurring at a standardized distance from skin to pleural line. (j) Slide
normal pleural line.
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The thoracic CT image (Figure 1(a) and (b)) showed bilateral lesions, patchy, also confluent and ground glass with the mixed consolidation. The specific LUS findings for this patient were the interstitial-alveolar damage showing bilateral, diffuse pleural line abnormalities, subpleural consolidations, white lung areas and thick, irregular vertical artifacts (Figure 1(c)-(h)). When the patient recovered from the SARS-CoV-2 infection, LUS images showed a normal pleural line with A-lines regularly reverberating (Figure 1(i) and (j)).