Lung ultrasound is emerging as a valuable bedside tool that can be used for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. Lung ultrasound is easily learned, quickly performed and is goal orientated. There are definitive ultrasound findings that can point to the presence or absence of lung pathology.
Scanning the lung was thought to be pointless and futile in the early days of ultrasound. This is because the lung is an air filled organ and ultrasound waves are poorly reflected by air. Ultrasound artefacts commonly hinder imaging of most organs, and may be the cause of misdiagnosis in some settings. The converse is however the case for lung ultrasound. Many of the signs in lung ultrasound are due to artefacts that arise secondary to the pleural air interface and or the air-fluid composition of the lung or alveoli.
Pioneers in lung ultrasound include Dr Daniel Lichtenstein, an intensivist from France, who demonstrated many of the commonly known lung ultrasounds signs. He introduced the BLUE protocol and FALLS protocol in the early 1980s. The former has proven to be useful in making a diagnosis with high specificity and sensitivity in critically unwell patients presenting with dyspnea.
The I-AIM framework (Indications, Acquisition, Interpretation, Medical Decision Making) can be applied when performing Lung Ultrasound or for any other point of care ultrasound application.