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Int J Med Sci 2021; 18(6):1415-1422. doi:10.7150/ijms.54987 This issue Cite

Research Paper

Lung Auscultation of Hospitalized Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia via a Wireless Stethoscope

Pengyu Zhang, MD PhD^1*, Bingjian Wang, MD PhD^2*, Yan Liu, MD^3*, Muge Fan, MD³, Yong Ji, MD PhD¹, Hao Xu, MD PhD³, Mengdan Xu, MD PhD³, Songwen Chen, MD PhD³, Qing Li, MD^4✉, Zhi Zhang, MD PhD^3✉

1. Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of medicine (originally named “Shanghai First People's Hospital”), Shanghai, China.
2. Department of Cardiology, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Huai'an First People's Hospital, Huai'an, Jiangsu, china
3. Department of Cardiology , Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of medicine (originally named “Shanghai First People's Hospital”), Shanghai, China.
4. Department of Critical Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of medicine (originally named “Shanghai First People's Hospital”), Shanghai, China.
* Contributed equally.

✉ Corresponding author: Zhi Zhang, Department of Cardiology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of medicine (originally named “Shanghai First People's Hospital”), 100 Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, People's Republic of China. Email: zhi.zhangcn. Fax: +862163240825. Tel:+862163240090-3041. Mobile: +86-13621759762. More

Abstract

Objective: SARS-CoV-2 (originally named COVID-2019) pneumonia is currently prevalent worldwide. The number of cases has increased rapidly but the auscultatory characteristics of affected patients and how to use it to predict who is most likely to survive or die are not available. This study aims to describe the auscultatory characteristics and its clinical relativity of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia by using a wireless stethoscope.

Material and methods: A cross-sectional, observational, single-center case series of 30 consecutive hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia at Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China, were enrolled from March 9 to April 5, 2020. Clinical, laboratory, radiological, treatment data and lung auscultation were collected and analyzed. Lung auscultation was acquired by a wireless electronic stethoscope. Auscultatory characteristics of the moderate, severe, and critically ill patients were compared.

Results: Kinds of crackles including fine crackles and wheezing were heard and recorded in these patients. Velcro crackles were heard in most critically ill patients (6/10). Besides, patients with Velcro crackles were all dead (6/6). There was no positive lung auscultatory finding in the moderate group and little positive lung auscultatory findings (4/10) in the severe group.

Conclusion: Velcro crackles can be auscultated by this newly designed electronic wireless stethoscope in most critically ill patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 and predicts a poor prognosis. Moderate and severe patients without positive auscultatory findings may have a better prognosis.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, auscultation, crackle, stethoscope, pneumonia.

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