{rfName}
Th

Indexed in

License and use

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Tung-Chen YCorresponding AuthorMontero-Hernández EAuthor

Share

December 20, 2021
Publications
>
Article
Green

The Impact of Different Lung Ultrasound Protocols in the Assessment of Lung Lesions in COVID-19 Patients: Is There an Ideal Lung Ultrasound Protocol?

Publicated to:Journal of Ultrasound. 25 (3): 483-491 - 2022-09-01 25(3), DOI: 10.1007/s40477-021-00610-x

Authors: Tung-Chen, Yale; Ossaba-Velez, Silvia; Acosta Velasquez, Kevin Stephen; Luz Parra-Gordo, Maria; Diez-Tascon, Aurea; Villen-Villegas, Tomas; Montero-Hernandez, Esther; Gutierrez-Villanueva, Andrea; Trueba-Vicente, Angela; Arenas-Berenguer, Isabel; Marti de Gracia, Milagros

Affiliations

Hosp Univ La Paz, Dept Emergency Med, Madrid, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ La Paz, Dept Emergency Radiol, Madrid, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Puerta de Hierro, Dept Internal Med, Madrid, Spain - Author
Hosp Univ Ramon Y Cajal, Dept Emergency Med, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Alfonso X El Sabio, Dept Med, Calle Joaquin Rodrigo 1, Madrid 28222, Spain - Author
Univ Francisco de Vitoria, Fac Med, Madrid, Spain - Author
See more

Abstract

Background: In the past months, several lung ultrasonography (LUS) protocols have been proposed, mainly on previously validated schemes independent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to determine the impact and accuracy of different LUS protocols proposed in COVID-19. Methods: Patients were evaluated with a standard sequence of LUS scans in 72 intercostal spaces along 14 anatomic lines in the chest. A scoring system of LUS findings was reported and then analyzed separately according to each proposed LUS protocol zones. This score was then correlated to a validated Pulmonary Inflammation Index (PII) on chest Computed Tomography (CT). Results: Thirty-two patients were enrolled. The most frequent pattern was ground-glass opacities in the chest X-ray (53.1%), chest CT (59.1%) and subpleural or lobar consolidations (40.8%) in the posteroinferior areas (p < 0.001) on LUS. The Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was significantly correlated with almost every protocol analyzed except the 8-zone (p = 0.119) and the 10-zone protocol that only included one posterior point (p = 0.052). The highest ICC was obtained with a 12-zone protocol (ICC 0.500; p = 0.027) and decreased as more points were included. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study results suggest that performing an ultrasound protocol with 12-zone scanning, including the superior and inferior areas of the anterior, lateral and posterior regions of the chest was consistent with higher ICC and higher degree of concordance with CT. We emphasize the need of a more standardization technique to further implement and develop this imaging modality in COVID-19.

Keywords

coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19)lung ultrasonography (lus)point-of-care ultrasonography (pocus)Coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19)Covid-19HumansLungLung ultrasonography (lus)Point-of-care ultrasonography (pocus)Sars-cov-2Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2)Tomography, x-ray computedUltrasonography

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal of Ultrasound due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 4.05. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 2.45 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 6.25 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-16, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 12
  • Scopus: 12
  • Europe PMC: 5

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-16:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 27.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 28 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 7.6.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 9 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (TUNG CHEN, YALE) .

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been TUNG CHEN, YALE.