Dataset on ultrasound findings of lung ultrasonography in COVID-19: a systematic review

This is a systematic review according to the PRISMA guidelines. We queried PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Scopus using the terms ((coronavirus) OR (covid-19) OR (sars AND cov AND 2) OR (2019-nCoV)) AND (("lung ultrasound") OR (LUS)), from 31st of December 2019 to 31st of January 2021. Confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 18 years old or older patients and original studies with at least 10 participants were included. We found 1333 articles, from which 67 articles were included, with a pooled population of 4700 patients. The most examined findings were at least 3 B-lines, confluent B-lines, subpleural consolidation, pleural effusion and bilateral or unilateral distribution. B-lines, its confluent presentation and pleural abnormalities are the most frequent findings. LUS score was higher in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and emergency department (ED), and it is associated with a higher risk of developing unfavorable outcomes (death, ICU admission or need for mechanical ventilation). LUS findings and/or the LUS score has a good negative predictive value in the diagnosis of COVID-19 compared to RT-PCR. This dataset is being submitted via European Journal of Radiology as a co-submission.