Background The majority of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection are diagnosed and managed as outpatients; however, little is known about the burden of pulmonary disease in this setting. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a convenient tool for detection of COVID-19 pneumonia. Identifying SARS-CoV-2 infected outpatients with pulmonary disease may be important for early risk stratification. Objectives To investigate the prevalence, natural history and clinical significance of pulmonary disease in outpatients with SARS-CoV-2. Methods SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive outpatients (CV(+)) were assessed with LUS to identify the presence of interstitial pneumonia. Studies were considered positive based on the presence of B-lines, pleural irregularity and consolidations. A subset of patients underwent longitudinal examinations. Correlations between LUS findings and patient symptoms, demographics, comorbidities and clinical outcomes over 8 weeks were evaluated. Results 102 CV(+) patients underwent LUS with 42 (41%) demonstrating pulmonary involvement. Baseline LUS severity scores correlated with shortness of breath on multivariate analysis. Of the CV(+) patients followed longitudinally, a majority showed improvement or resolution in LUS findings after 1–2 weeks. Only one patient in the CV(+) cohort was briefly hospitalised, and no patient died or required mechanical ventilation. Conclusion We found a high prevalence of LUS findings in outpatients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given the pervasiveness of pulmonary disease across a broad spectrum of LUS severity scores and lack of adverse outcomes, our findings suggest that LUS may not be a useful as a risk stratification tool in SARS-CoV-2 in the general outpatient population. Data are available on reasonable request. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. Data relevant to the study are included in the article and supplementary information. Additional deidentified participant data is available on reasonable request to the corresponding author, Robert Fairchild (rfairchi@stanford.edu).

中文翻译：

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SARS-CoV-2感染门诊患者肺部疾病的患病率及肺部超声检查意义

背景 大多数 SARS-CoV-2 感染患者在门诊进行诊断和管理；然而，人们对这种情况下肺部疾病的负担知之甚少。肺部超声 (LUS) 是检测 COVID-19 肺炎的便捷工具。识别感染 SARS-CoV-2 的肺部疾病门诊患者对于早期风险分层可能很重要。目的 调查门诊 SARS-CoV-2 患者肺部疾病的患病率、自然病程和临床意义。方法 用 LUS 评估 SARS-CoV-2 PCR 阳性门诊患者 (CV(+))，以确定是否存在间质性肺炎。根据 B 线、胸膜不规则和实变的存在，研究被认为是积极的。一部分患者接受了纵向检查。评估了 8 周内 LUS 结果与患者症状、人口统计学、合并症和临床结果之间的相关性。结果 102 名 CV(+) 患者接受了 LUS，其中 42 名 (41%) 表现出肺部受累。在多变量分析中，基线 LUS 严重程度评分与呼吸急促相关。在纵向随访的 CV(+) 患者中，大多数在 1-2 周后显示 LUS 结果有所改善或消退。CV(+) 队列中只有一名患者短暂住院，没有患者死亡或需要机械通气。结论 我们发现在 SARS-CoV-2 感染的门诊患者中，LUS 结果的患病率很高。鉴于肺部疾病在广泛的 LUS 严重程度评分中普遍存在并且没有不良后果，我们的研究结果表明，在普通门诊人群中，LUS 可能无法用作 SARS-CoV-2 的风险分层工具。可应合理要求提供数据。所有与研究相关的数据都包含在文章中或作为补充信息上传。与研究相关的数据包含在文章和补充信息中。应合理要求，可向相应作者 Robert Fairchild (rfairchi@stanford.edu) 提供额外的去识别参与者数据。