VP45.22: Lung ultrasound is not a useful screening tool for SARS‐CoV2 in pregnant women

Pneumonia caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). As high as 20% of pregnant women admitted to hospitals may test positive for SARS-CoV2, most of them will be asymptomatic. Asymptomatic carriers represent a risk both for other women and for healthcare workers. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a safe and reliable tool for lung imaging in patients with COVID-19, especially in pregnancy. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of LUS as a screening tool for SARS-CoV2 in pregnancy. This was a prospective cohort pilot study on asymptomatic pregnant women undergoing oropharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). On the same day of the swab and before the result is ready, women were recruited for the aim of the study. For all recruited women, we performed LUS. Each hemithorax was divided into 6 regions. Each region was and given a score (normal = 0, well-separated B-lines = 1, coalescent B-lines = 2, and consolidation = 3). LUS score is the sum of the score in all regions. All LUS examinations were performed by Voluson P8 machine (GE Healthcare; Zipf, Austria) equipped with 2D convex transducer. Overall, 50 asymptomatic pregnant women were recruited for the aim of the study. Median age was 34 years (range 24 to 48) and median gestational age was 38 weeks (range 25 to 40). qRT-PCR resulted positive in 2 (4%) and negative in 48 women. LUS was normal with LUS score 0 in all cases. Women were followed up for a median of 7 days (range 3 to 9). None were symptomatic for COVID-19 at the time of the swab or at follow-up. In this pilot study, despite the relatively small population, the use of lung ultrasound did not seem to be useful in the screening for COVID-19 in pregnant women.