LUS: Lung Ultrasound

Lung Ultrasound (LUS) is a procedure that is used to create an image of internal body structures Lungs. It aims to find a source of a disease or to exclude pathology.

LUS can be performed at the bedside and used in mechanically ventilated patients to assess the efficacy of treatments and to monitor the evolution of the respiratory disorder. Yet, it can be used for early detection and management of respiratory complications such as pneumothorax, ventilator-associated pneumonia, atelectasis, and pleural effusions.

Which Ultrasound Scanner is best for Lung assessment?

The color Doppler 3 in 1 Wireless Ultrasound Scanner 3in1-CLC1CD is highly recommended for pneumologists, and emergency doctors.

Different probes can be suitable for LUS; that depends on the patient size and the suspected pathology. Linear probes have high superficial definition and low penetration capacity due to their high-frequency; they are therefore suitable in thin parietal wall patients, mainly in anterior fields, and in pleural pathologies evaluation that is to say pneumothorax.

Convex probes and phased-array probes are more suitable to deep pathologies examination (consolidations and pleural effusions) and for thick parietal wall areas, mainly lateral and posterior.

LUS can quickly and easily performed in critically ill patients. It has a higher diagnostic accuracy than physical examination and chest radiography combined. It enhances safety by avoiding ionizing radiation and the need for potentially dangerous transfers within the hospital.

During the procedure, apply two hands side by side ( without your thumbs) over the anterior chest with your wrists in the anterior axillary line and your upper little finger resting along the clavicle. Your lower little finger will be aligned with the lower border of the lung (the phrenic line). For each point the probe should be placed at 90° to the skin, looking into the lung, with the left of the screen cephalad and the right caudad. All views are longitudinal and not transverse.

LUS is particularly useful in distinguishing between pulmonary oedema, pneumonia, and a COPD exacerbation in patients in whom the diagnosis is not clear.

Moreover, for patients presenting acutely with respiratory failure, LUS provides a diagnostic accuracy of 90.5% (compared with about 75% for physical examination plus chest radiography) with a scan that takes <5 min. The scan requires the practitioner to seek lung sliding anteriorly and look for B lines at two anterior points on each hemithorax. If a diagnosis is not reached, then the practitioner scans the leg veins for a deep thrombosis(DVT). If there is no DVT, then consolidation is looked for postero-laterally. This simple protocol has the ability to greatly enhance the speed and accuracy of diagnosis in patients with acute respiratory failure.  

In the intensive care unit, a lung ultrasound Scanner provides accurate information on lung morphology with diagnostic and therapeutic relevance. It enables clinicians easy, rapid, and reliable evaluation of lung aeration and its variations at the bedside.

References: Ultrasound for “Lung Monitoring”, Practical approach to lung ultrasound