COVID-19
GENERAL INFORMATION
Health Departments:
Australian Department of Health
New Zealand NZ Ministry of Health
Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC)
Travel and Consular Assistance:
World Health Organisation (WHO):
Public advice regarding COVID-19
Data on Global and Local Cases:
Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
Covid19data.com.au
World Health Organisation (WHO):
Public advice regarding COVID-19
SBS Online:
ASUM PARTNERS
CONTACT DETAILS
Fujifilm Sonosite
Medisound
Philips
Tristel Pty Ltd
Tristel New Zealand
COVID-19 Resources
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization has formally declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Here, in both Australia and New Zealand the outbreak is managed as a public health emergency.
To support all healthcare professionals fighting the COVID-19 virus, ASUM has collated relevant information in one place. This page contains useful information and resources for all healthcare professionals utilising ultrasound to aid in the diagnosis, management and monitoring of patients with COVID-19. ASUM wants to convey the latest information from the relevant bodies to ensure factual information is provided to our members and the ultrasound community.
Ultrasound will play a key role, with lung and cardiac ultrasound crucial to the diagnosis and management of patients with COVID-19, in particular those in emergency and critical care. We hope this information further supports the efforts and offer our gratitude to all healthcare professionals caring for their patients and supporting their colleagues as a larger healthcare team.
ASUM is continuing to provide ultrasound specific information regarding the role of the sonographer/sonologist, as well as guidelines and resources to assist in managing risk associated with providing essential ultrasound services. Australia and New Zealand have thankfully minimised local transmission to date, however we note that the provision of ultrasound requires close contact and have produced the following resources to further support you in the field:
ASUM Guidelines:
Supporting Letters:
ASUM has worked to provide you with useful resources and education to support you during the COVID-19 pandemic. We would greatly appreciate your feedback on the usefulness of this information to understand how we were able to support your ultrasound practice. Please provide any additional resources or information that may be helpful now or in the future that are currently not included on our COVID-19 resource page. As we all work through this together, we really want to ensure we do our best to meet your needs and would greatly appreciate your time in responding to this survey.
SAFETY AND CLEANING
Guidelines
- AGDH (Released 19 March 2020) COVID-19 infection control training.
- ASUM & ACIPC (2017) Guidelines for Reprocessing Ultrasound Transducers.
- ISUOG Safety Committee Position Statement: safe performance of obstetric and gynaecological scans and equipment cleaning in the context of COVID-19 Released 23 March 2020.
- ISUOG Interim Guidance 2019 novel coronavirus infection during pregnancy and puerperium: information for healthcare professionals. Published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology on 11 March 2020.
- WFUMB Provides Free Access to the following materials – Manual on prevention and treatment of COVID-19: Faced with an unknown virus, sharing and collaboration are the best remedy
- Ultrasound Transducer and Equipment Cleaning and Disinfection. By UK FUSIC Committee on behalf of Intensive Care Society and endorsed by Society for Acute Medicine.
- Prevention of pathogen transmission during ultrasound use in the Intensive Care Unit: Recommendations from the College of Intensive Care Medicine Ultrasound Special Interest Group (USIG). AJUM. Published on 26 March 2020.
- WFUMB Position Statement: How to perform a safe ultrasound examination and clean equipment in the context of COVID-19.
- ISUOG Safety Statement Endorsed by ASUM BMUS SCoR and SIEOG. ISUOG Safety Committee Position Statement on use of personal protective equipment and hazard mitigation in relation to SARS-CoV-2 for practitioners undertaking obstetric and gynaecological ultrasound. Released on 31 March 2020.
ASUM Webinar
Other Webinar
ULTRASOUND ARTICLES
The role of lung and cardiac ultrasound is instrumental in the diagnosis, management and monitoring of patients with COVID-19. Please find below various articles and references to further support your efforts.
LUNG ULTRASOUND
Guidelines
- The UK Intensive Care Society
- US POCUS Certification Academy
ASUM Webinar
Articles
- Radiologists ‘strongly recommend’ bedside ultrasound for COVID-19 pneumonia diagnosis. Published by Radiology Business on 16 March 2020.
- Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound findings in novel coronavirus disease-19 pnemoniae: a case report and potential applications during COVID-19 outbreak. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences Year 2020. Vol. 24 N.5.
- Is there a role for lung ultrasound during the COVID-19 pandemic? in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. First published: 20 March 2020.
- How to perform lung ultrasound in pregnant women with suspected COVID-19 infection. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Published on line on 24 March 2020.
- COVID – 19 outbreak: less stethoscope, more ultrasound. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2020.
- Lung Ultrasound for COVID-19 Pneumonia Diagnosis? Published on 19 March 2020 by Diagnostic Imaging.
- Can Lung US Help Critical Care Clinicians in the Early Diagnosis of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pneumonia? Radiology Published on 13 March 2020.
- Proposal for international standardization of the use of lung ultrasound for COVID-19 patients; a simple, quantitative, reproducible method. JUM. Published 30 March 2020.
- A preliminary study on the ultrasonic manifestations of peripulmonary lesions of non-critical novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19). Published 26 February 2020.
- Lung Ultrasound findings in a 64-year-old Woman with COVID-19. Early released on 31 March 2020 by CMAJ.
- COVID-19 pneumonia manifestations at the admission on chest ultrasound, radiographs, and CT: single-center study and comprehensive radiologic literature review by Eur J Radiol Open on 4 April 2020.
- POCUS in COVID-19 Pearls and Pitfalls. Correspondence Published by Lancet Respir Med on 7 April 2020.
- Benefits, Open questions and Challenges of the use of Ultrasound in the COVID-19 pandemic era: The views of a panel of worldwide international experts. Published in Ultraschall in Med on 15 April 2020.
Training resources
- How to use lung ultrasound. YouTube teaching from Kylie Baker.
- Practical Guideline by UK Physiotherapy Lung Ultrasound on Physiotherapists use of lung ultrasound during the COVID – 19 pandemic.
- Video: Imaging COVID-19 with Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Published by Imaging Technology News on 30 March 2020.
- Podcast: Tracking COVID-19 with Dr. Yale Tung Chen. Published on 19 March 2020.
- POCUS in COVID-19 by Ultrasound G.E.L. Published 17 March 2020.
- 6 Tips for Better POCUS Images published by POCUS Certification Academy. Released on 29 January 2020.
- Webinar: Lessons from the front lines: A global perspective, is now available to view online. Hear from front-line physicians representing seven different regions on how they are managing. Published on 10 April 2020.
CARDIAC ULTRASOUND
Guidelines
- ASE Statement on Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) During the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic.
- ASE Specific Considerations for Sonographers When Performing Echocardiograms During the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak: Supplement to the American Society of Echocardiography Statement. Journal of American Society of Echocardiography on 13 April 2020.
ASUM Webinar
Articles
- Expanding our FoCUS: the utility of advanced echocardiography in the emergency department. AJUM Vol 22, Iss 1, Feb 2019.
- Paediatric point‐of‐care ultrasound in a resource‐limited Melanesian setting: A case series. AJUM Vol 23, Iss1, Feb 2020.
- Consensus Guidelines for Interventional Cardiology Services Delivery During COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia and New Zealand. By Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Published on 29 March 2020.
- Recommendations for Echocardiography Laboratories Participating in Cardiac Point of Care Cardiac Ultrasound (POCUS) and Critical Care Echocardiography Training: Report from the American Society of Echocardiography Published April 2020.
- COVID-19 pandemic and cardiac imaging: EACVI recommendations on precautions, indications, prioritization, and protection for patients and healthcare personnel. Published on 3 April 2020 by European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging.
- Our Italian Experience Using Lung Ultrasound for Identification, Grading and Serial Follow‐up of Severity of Lung Involvement for Management of Patients with COVID‐19. Published on 1 April 2020 by Echocardiography.
- Using Echocardiography to Guide the Treatment of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia. Published by Crit Care 24, Article No. 143 2020.
- Bedside Focused Cardiac Ultrasound in COVID-19 Infection From the Wuhan Epicenter: The Role of Cardiac Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), Limited Transthoracic Echocardiography and Critical Care Echocardiography. By Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography on 3 April 2020.
Others
- American Society of Echocardiography COVID-19 Resources.
- American College of Cardiology COVID-19 Clinical Guidance.
OBSTETRIC ULTRASOUND
Webinar
- ISUOG Webinar: How to prepare your unit for coronavirus.
- ISUOG Webinar: Coronavirus: Wellbeing and workforce. Released 31 March 2020.
Free resources
- RANZCOG: COVID-19 and pregnant health care workers.
- RANZCOG: Advice to obstetricians and gynaecologists, and GP obstetricians, regarding isolation and COVID-19.
- New Zealand Northern Region: Advice for Community Maternity Ultrasound (level 4 restrictions)
- ISUOG Consensus statement on rationalization of gynecological ultrasound services in context of SARS-CoV-2. Released 3 April 2020.
- lSUOG Consensus Statement on rationalization of early-pregnancy care and provision of ultrasonography in context of SARS-CoV-2. Released 3 April 2020.
GENERAL ULTRASOUND
Resources
- AIUM Resources
- BMUS COVID-19 FAQs For Sonographers
- Dept Health COVID-19 letter to AHPs
- All Wiley published COVID-19 related articles are now free to access. Special thanks to Wiley.
- Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine Lung Ultrasonography Resources.
- Lancet COVID-19 Resource Centre.
- Medscape Coronavirus Resource Center.
- FUJIFILM SonoSite COVID-19
- BUTTERFLY IQ Fighting COVID Together.
- Clarius Ultrasound for Lung Pathology (COVID-19)
Ethical discussions
- Ethics Talk Podcast: COVID-19 Pandemic Response.
- COVID-19 Raises Ethical Dilemmas for Many Physicians Published by Medical Economics on 31 March, 2020.
- Echo in Pandemic: Front Line Perspective, Expanding Role of Ultrasound and Ethics of Resource Allocation. Published by Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography on 4 April 2020.
Other Relevant Medical Articles:
- Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan China: the mystery and the miracle.
- Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China.
- Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China.
- Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study.
- Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia.
- Coronavirus Infections-More Than Just the Common Cold.
- Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72 314 Cases From the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Investigation of three clusters of COVID-19 in Singapore: implications for surveillance and response measures.
COVID-19 Resources
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization has formally declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Here, in both Australia and New Zealand the outbreak is managed as a public health emergency.
To support all healthcare professionals fighting the COVID-19 virus, ASUM has collated relevant information in one place. This page contains useful information and resources for all healthcare professionals utilising ultrasound to aid in the diagnosis, management and monitoring of patients with COVID-19. ASUM wants to convey the latest information from the relevant bodies to ensure factual information is provided to our members and the ultrasound community.
Ultrasound will play a key role, with lung and cardiac ultrasound crucial to the diagnosis and management of patients with COVID-19, in particular those in emergency and critical care. We hope this information further supports the efforts and offer our gratitude to all healthcare professionals caring for their patients and supporting their colleagues as a larger healthcare team.
ASUM has worked to provide you with useful resources and education to support you during the COVID-19 pandemic. We would greatly appreciate your feedback on the usefulness of this information to understand how we were able to support your ultrasound practice. Please provide any additional resources or information that may be helpful now or in the future that are currently not included on our COVID-19 resource page. As we all work through this together, we really want to ensure we do our best to meet your needs and would greatly appreciate your time in responding to this survey.
SAFETY AND INFECTION CONTROL
Guidelines
- AGDP (Released 19 March 2020) COVID-19 infection control training. *NEW*
- ASUM & ACIPC (2017) Guidelines for Reprocessing Ultrasound Transducers.
- ISUOG Safety Committee Position Statement: safe performance of obstetric and gynaecological scans and equipment cleaning in the context of COVID-19 Released 23 March 2020. *NEW*
- ISUOG Interim Guidance 2019 novel coronavirus infection during pregnancy and puerperium: information for healthcare professionals. Published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology on 11 March 2020. *NEW*
- WFUMB Provides Free Access to the following materials – Manual on prevention and treatment of COVID-19: Faced with an unknown virus, sharing and collaboration are the best remedy. *NEW*
- Ultrasound Transducer and Equipment Cleaning and Disinfection. By UK FUSIC Committee on behalf of Intensive Care Society and endorsed by Society for Acute Medicine. *NEW*
Webinar
Articles
- All Wiley published COVID-19 related articles are now free to access. Special thanks to Wiley. *NEW*
- Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine Lung Ultrasonography Resources. *NEW*
- Lancet COVID-19 Resource Centre. *NEW*
- Medscape Coronavirus Resource Center. *NEW*
ULTRASOUND ARTICLES
The role of lung and cardiac ultrasound is instrumental in the diagnosis, management and monitoring of patients with COVID-19. Please find below various articles and references to further support your efforts.
LUNG ULTRASOUND
Guidelines
The UK Intensive Care Society
- The role of ultrasound for patients with suspected or proved COVID-19. By UK FUSIC Committee on behalf of Intensive Care Society and endorsed by Society for Acute Medicine. *NEW*
- Lung Ultrasound for COVID-19. *NEW*
- COVID Lung Ultrasound Dataset. *NEW*
- Using Point-of-Care Ultrasound to Monitor COVID-19 by POCUS Certification Academy US. *NEW*
Articles
- Reporting focused lung ultrasound studies in critical care. Recommendations from the College of Intensive Care Medicine Ultrasound Special Interest Group. AJUM Vol 22, Iss 3, August 2019.
- The prevalence of lung surface abnormalities in a healthy population as detected by a screening lung ultrasound protocol: Comparison between young and older volunteers. AJUM Vol 22, Iss 2, May 2019.
- Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of novices integrating lung ultrasound into the care of breathless older patients. AJUM Vol 18, Iss 4, Nov 2015.
- Diagnostic accuracy of basic lung ultrasound in breathless patients over 60 years of age; stressing the protocol. AJUM Vol 16, Iss 4, Nov 2013.
- Limited lung ultrasound protocol in elderly patients with breathlessness; agreement between bedside interpretation and stored images as acquired by experienced and inexperienced sonologists. AJUM Vol 16, Iss 4, Nov 2013.
- Comparison of a basic lung scanning protocol against formally reported chest x‐ray in the diagnosis of pulmonary oedema. AJUM Vol 16, Iss 4, Nov 2013.
- Findings of lung ultrasonography of novel corona virus pneumonia during the 2019–2020 epidemic.
- Radiologists ‘strongly recommend’ bedside ultrasound for COVID-19 pneumonia diagnosis. Published by Radiology Business on 16 March, 2020. *NEW*
- Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound findings in novel coronavirus disease-19 pnemoniae: a case report and potential applications during COVID-19 outbreak. Year: 2020. Vol.24 N. 5. DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202003_20549. *NEW*
- Is there a role for lung ultrasound during the COVID-19 pandemic? in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. First published: 20 March 2020. *NEW*
- How to perform lung ultrasound in pregnant women with suspected COVID-19 infection. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Published on line on 24 March 2020. *NEW*
- COVID – 19 outbreak: less stethoscope, more ultrasound. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2020. *NEW*
- Lung Ultrasound for COVID-19 Pneumonia Diagnosis? Published on 19 March 2020 by Diagnostic Imaging. *NEW*
- Can Lung US Help Critical Care Clinicians in the Early Diagnosis of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pneumonia? *NEW*
Training resources
- How to use lung ultrasound. YouTube teaching from Kylie Baker. *NEW*
- Practical Guideline by UK Physiotherapy Lung Ultrasound on Physiotherapists use of lung ultrasound during the COVID – 19 pandemic. *NEW*
CARDIAC ULTRASOUND
AJUM Articles
- Expanding our FoCUS: the utility of advanced echocardiography in the emergency department. AJUM Vol 22, Iss 1, Feb 2019. *NEW*
- Paediatric point‐of‐care ultrasound in a resource‐limited Melanesian setting: A case series. AJUM Vol 23, Iss1, Feb 2020. *NEW*
Others
- American Society of Echocardiography COVID-19 Resources.
- American College of Cardiology COVID-19 Clinical Guidance.
OBSTETRIC ULTRASOUND
- ISUOG Webinar: How to prepare your unit for coronavirus.
- RANZCOG: COVID-19 and pregnant health care workers.
- RANZCOG: Advice to obstetricians and gynaecologists, and GP obstetricians, regarding isolation and COVID-19.
- New Zealand Northern Region: Advice for Community Maternity Ultrasound (level 4 restrictions). *NEW*
GENERAL ULTRASOUND
OTHER RELEVANT MEDICAL PAPERS
- Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan China: the mystery and the miracle
- Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China
- Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China
- Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study
- Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia
- Coronavirus Infections-More Than Just the Common Cold
- Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72 314 Cases From the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Investigation of three clusters of COVID-19 in Singapore: implications for surveillance and response measures
COVID-19
GENERAL INFORMATION
Health Departments:
Australian Department of Health
New Zealand NZ Ministry of Health
Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC)
Travel and Consular Assistance:
World Health Organisation (WHO):
Public advice regarding COVID-19
Data on Global and Local Cases:
