Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Patients With COVID-19: Pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or Something Else?

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a very heterogeneous disease. Some aspects of COVID-19 pneumonia question the real nature of ground glass opacities and its consolidative lesions. It has been hypothesized that COVID-19 lung involvement could represent not only a viral effect but also an immune response induced by the infection, causing epithelial/endothelial lesions and coagulation disorders. We report 3 cases of COVID-19 pneumonia in which contrast-enhanced ultrasound was suggestive of consolidations with perfusion defects, at least in part caused by ischemic or necrotic changes and not only by inflammatory or atelectasis events.