Does Auscultation of lungs correlate with chest X-ray findings and O2 administered in COVID-19 pneumonia patients ?

Introduction: Auscultation of chest is limited during COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to investigate the relationship between auscultatory findings and the severity of the Chest x-ray(CXR) changes and the oxygen(O2) administered. Methods: 19 RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia patients were studied. Patients on assisted ventilation, known underlying lung or heart disease were excluded. Chest auscultation was undertaken by 2 respiratory consultants and 2 middle grade respiratory doctors using a 3M™ Littmann® Stethoscope. Inspiratory crackles were graded between 0 to 10. Upper, middle and lower zones of the chest were auscultated posteriorly and average of total grades for each area were recorded. CXR done around the day of auscultation were reported by a consultant chest radiologist blinded to the auscultatory findings. COVID-19 changes on CXR were graded as none, mild, moderate, or severe. O2 administered to respective patients at the time of auscultation was documented. Statistical relationship between the variables were caliculated using correlation co-efficient. Results: On Auscultation, crackles were heard in 89% of patients. 84% of patients in both the middle and lower zones and 5% of patients in the lower zone only. They were not heard in upper zones. Measurements and Main Results: There is an association between the crackles on chest auscultation and severity of the COVID-19 CXR findings and the O2 administered.