Twelve lung zones protocol of ultrasound mapping in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

What is it about?

Thirty-one patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis were included in the study, We compared the lung changes of IPF using a lung ultrasound (LUS) protocol of 12 zones with “current standard” high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) diagnostic method and overlap it with the functional pulmonary test as a complete clinical and imaging evaluation. Both the median of the number of B-lines and the average of the thickness of the pleural line obtained in the LUS assessment had a positively and statistically significant correlation with the HRCT fibrotic score P < 0.001. The pleural thickness of 2.4 mm is the cut-off value of the mild form of fibrosis with a sensitivity of 0.958 and a specificity of 0.994. B-lines and the average thickness of the pleural line as LUS markers of the fibrotic interstitial syndrome are highly and positively correlated with HRCT score, FVC, and DLCO. LUS as a complementary method in the clinical management of IPF could be used more often by skilled clinicians to assess patients in terms of possible diagnosis and monitoring of IPF.

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