1,721,173 research outputs found
Ultrasound of the Lungs: More than a Room with a View
No full textLung ultrasound B-lines are the sonographic pattern of partial deaeration of the lung. In patients with pulmonary edema they are detected as multiple, diffuse, and bilateral, by placing the ultrasound probe in the intercostal spaces. B-lines can be used for bedside monitoring of pulmonary decongestion, and can guide diuretic therapy. Persistent pulmonary congestion after hospitalization for acute heart failure increases the risk of being rehospitalized in the following months. Adding B-lines assessment to echocardiography in an integrated cardiopulmonary ultrasound is of great value in establishing the kind and degree of myocardial and valvular impairment, and their hemodynamic consequences as pulmonary edema
The RIGHT Heart International NETwork (RIGHT-NET): A Road Map Through the Right Heart-Pulmonary Circulation Unit Preface
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Imaging of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis: computed tomography versus ultrasound
No full textInterstitial lung disease related to systemic sclerosis (SSc-ILD) is a main prognostic determinant of the disease. High-resolution computed tomography is the reference tool to detect SSc-ILD in the clinical arena. It enables the diagnosis, quantification and monitoring of lung involvement, providing robust information for the management of the disease; yet its cost and especially radiological burden can make it unappealing to SSc patients, who are often young women in their reproductive age, who require serial testing to assess the natural history of the disease. Recently, lung ultrasound has been proposed as a nonionizing technique to detect and semiquantifiy SSc-ILD. This new application of ultrasound seems interesting, as it is fast, inexpensive and can easily be performed at the patient's bedside with a handheld device. Magnetic resonance is the current gold standard for noninvasive virtual histological discrimination of different tissues. Despite still being underused for the evaluation of the lungs, it has successfully been employed in a few studies for the depiction of morphologic changes in patients with ILD. Although very promising, until now no other imaging modalities are able to provide all the information yielded by chest high-resolution computed tomography, which remains the gold standard technique for assessing pulmonary fibrosis. However, in a novel perspective of sustainability of our medical methods, the possibility to use radiation-free technologies to assess SSc-ILD seems extremely attractive and justifies further efforts in this field. The next challenge is to keep the high levels of information achieved with modern diagnostic imaging, preferably with the use of less risky techniques. © 2011 Future Medicine Ltd
New Aspects of Echocardiographic Assessment of Pulmonary Hypertension
No full textIn recent years, the assessment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) has gained more and more consideration in the clinical and scientific community, since many different conditions, including primary and secondary etiologies, may lead to PH. The possibility to noninvasively estimate pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) by echocardiography is of recognized utility for the screening and follow-up of PH. Along with PH estimation, a thorough evaluation of the right heart morphology, function, and hemodynamics is of paramount importance in patients with PH. In the last few years, many different echocardiographic techniques were proposed to improve the classic 2D assessment of the right heart, which suffers from significant limitations. Together with the more established tissue Doppler imaging, myocardial strain and speckle tracking and 3D echocardiography have emerged as very promising ultrasound methods to improve the overall assessment of patients with PH. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
The risk of cumulative radiation exposure in chest imaging and the advantage of bedside ultrasound
No full textThe increasing use and complexity of imaging techniques have not been matched by increasing awareness and knowledge by prescribers and practitioners. Imaging examinations that expose to ionizing radiation provide immense benefits when appropriate, yet they may result in an increased incidence of radiation-induced cancer in the long-term. The radiation issue is relevant not only for the individual patient but also for the community because small individual risks multiplied by millions of examinations become a significant population risk. As recently highlighted by recent European and American Guidelines, the long-term risk associated with radiation exposure should be considered in the risk-benefit assessment behind appropriate prescription of diagnostic testing
Sonographic signs and patterns of COVID-19 pneumonia
No full textThe pandemic of COVID-19 is seriously challenging the medical organization in many parts of the world. This novel corona virus SARS-CoV-2 has a specific tropism for the low respiratory airways, but causes severe pneumonia in a low percentage of patients. However, the rapid spread of the infection during this pandemic is causing the need to hospitalize a high number of patients. Pneumonia in COVID-19 has peculiar features and can be studied by lung ultrasound in the early approach to suspected patients. The sonographic signs are non-specific when considered alone, but observation of some aspects of vertical artifacts can enhance the diagnostic power of the ultrasound examination. Also, the combination of sonographic signs in patterns and their correlation with blood exams in different phenotypes of the disease may allow for a reliable characterization and be of help in triaging and admitting patients
A simple, reproducible and accurate lung ultrasound technique for COVID-19: when less is more
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