COVID-19 outbreak: less stethoscope, more ultrasound
Danilo Buonsenso
Davide Pata
Antonio Chiaretti
Published:March 20, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30120-X
In their Correspondence in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Jonathan Cheung and colleagues stressed the need to ensure staff safety in the airway management of patients with 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).1 This safety should be guaranteed from the patient's first assessment. In fact, maintaining the safety of the doctor, who meets many people during his daily activity, avoids the spread of the disease to other patients and the possible creation of new epidemic outbreaks. However, patients with fever and respiratory symptoms do still need to be seen. The standard method involves doing an objective examination and carrying out any radiological tests, such as chest radiography or chest CT.
