Modified lung ultrasound score in evaluating the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia

Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). In this study we aimed to determine the severity of pneumonia and the clinical parameters related to modified lung ultrasound score (mLUS) in patients with Covid-19 pneumonia. The study included 44 patients with proven Covid-19 pneumonia. Patients were divided into 3 groups as mild-moderate pneumonia (Group-I), severe pneumonia (Group-II) and critically-ill patients (Group-III) according to pneumonia severity. It was determined that mLUS values in Group I-II-III were 6.51 ± 4.12, 23.5 ± 5.9, 24.7 ± 3.9, respectively. mLUS values were significantly higher in Group-II and Group-III patients than in Group-I patients. There was a positive relationship between mLUS and age and NT-proBNP level and a negative relationship with PaO2 / FiO2. (p=0.032 and β=0.275 vs p=0.012 and β=0.315 vs p=0.001 and β= 0.520, respectively).In patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, mLUS increases significantly with the severity of the disease.