Journal Article

Nuts and bolts of lung ultrasound: utility, scanning techniques, protocols, and findings in common pathologies

Bittner, Edward A., Chang, Marvin G., Berra, Lorenzo, Goffi, Alberto, Beshara, Michael

2024

Overview

Point of Care ultrasound (POCUS) of the lungs, also known as lung ultrasound (LUS), has emerged as a technique that allows for the diagnosis of many respiratory pathologies with greater accuracy and speed compared to conventional techniques such as chest x-ray and auscultation. The goal of this narrative review is to provide a simple and practical approach to LUS for critical care, pulmonary, and anesthesia providers, as well as respiratory therapists and other health care providers to be able to implement this technique into their clinical practice. In this review, we will discuss the basic physics of LUS, provide a hands-on scanning technique, describe LUS findings seen in normal and pathological conditions (such as mainstem intubation, pneumothorax, atelectasis, pneumonia, aspiration, COPD exacerbation, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, ARDS, and pleural effusion) and also review the training necessary to achieve competence in LUS.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Bacterial pneumonia / Comparative analysis / Critical Care Medicine / Development and progression / Diagnosis / Diagnostic imaging / Edema / Emergency Medicine / Health care industry / Humans / Intensive / Intubation / Lung - diagnostic imaging / Lung Diseases - diagnostic imaging / Lungs / Medical research / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Medicine, Experimental / Pathology / Physics / Pneumonia / Pneumothorax / Point-of-Care Systems - standards / Point-of-Care Systems - trends / Review / Ultrasonic imaging / Ultrasonography - methods / Visualization