Using echocardiography to guide the treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia

Excerpt

Up to 24 February 2020, there have been 77,269 officially reported confirmed cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection in China. Circulatory dysfunction is considered to have a late onset in severe cases of nCoV pneumonia, which is often ignored in clinical treatment. The main causes of acute respiratory failure and subsequent circulatory dysfunction include the rapid progress of lung injury, fluid overload, lung consolidation, and mechanical ventilation for hypoxemia. Most injuries are related to fluid overload, acute lung injury, and long-term hypoxia. Echocardiographic is an important part of critical ultrasonography, which helps to quickly identify the hemodynamic status. We summarized the echocardiographic features of critically ill COVID-19 patients and its clinical use in the treatment of nCoV pneumonia. …