ABSTRACT
With stress echo (SE) 2020 study, a new standard of practice in stress imaging was developed and disseminated: the ABCDE protocol for functional testing within and beyond CAD. ABCDE protocol was the fruit of SE 2020, and is the seed of SE 2030, which is articulated in 12 projects: 1-SE in coronary artery disease (SECAD); 2-SE in diastolic heart failure (SEDIA); 3-SE in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (SEHCA); 4-SE post-chest radiotherapy and chemotherapy (SERA); 5-Artificial intelligence SE evaluation (AI-SEE); 6-Environmental stress echocardiography and air pollution (ESTER); 7-SE in repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (SETOF); 8-SE in post-COVID-19 (SECOV); 9: Recovery by stress echo of conventionally unfit donor good hearts (RESURGE); 10-SE for mitral ischemic regurgitation (SEMIR); 11-SE in valvular heart disease (SEVA); 12-SE for coronary vasospasm (SESPASM). The study aims to recruit in the next 5 years (2021-2025) ≥10,000 patients followed for ≥5 years (up to 2030) from ≥20 quality-controlled laboratories from ≥10 countries. In this COVID-19 era of sustainable health care delivery, SE2030 will provide the evidence to finally recommend SE as the optimal and versatile imaging modality for functional testing anywhere, any time, and in any patient.
ABSTRACT
The pathological consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) are multiple, with interstitial pneumonia and consecutive respiratory failure being the most dangerous clinical manifestations. Timely diagnosis and follow-up of pulmonary involvement need a comprehensive imaging strategy, which includes standard chest X-ray, chest computed tomography and lung ultrasound (LUS). In the last 10 years, LUS has become a useful, bedside and easily reproducible tool for lung examination. In the first part of this review, we present the pathophysiological background, technical principles and practical aspects of LUS in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the second part, the main echographic findings, their interpretation, and the clinical applications of LUS are overviewed. The review ends with the presentation of our work methodology, illustrated with images recorded from COVID-19 patients in our department.