Diagnostic value of ultrasound in cases of pneumonia admitted at intensive care unit: A comparative study with chest x-ray

Abstract

Background Pneumonia is consistently among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Defined as acute infection of the lung parenchyma, it is caused by a wide variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. However, pneumonia is often misdiagnosed even now. Early and effective antibiotic treatment is important. An adequate treatment is thus reliant on an early diagnosis of pneumonia, yet the diagnosis is not always clear at presentation to the emergency department (ED). In a retrospective chart review of patients admitted with pneumonia, 22% of patients presented some reason for diagnostic uncertainty that could result in delayed antibiotics delivery. Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of LUS in the diagnosis of pneumonia. Methods This is a prospective observational study which was conducted on 36 consecutive patients with suspected pneumonia. All patients were admitted to the Hospital, in the period from May 2019 to January 2020. Results Chest x-ray diagnosed pneumonia in 66.7% of patients, while lung U/S diagnosed pneumonia in 75% of patients. Lung ultrasound was more sensitive and highly specific for diagnosis of pneumonia as sensitivity and specificity of lung ultrasound was 96.3% and 88.9% respectively while for chest xray was 81.5% and 77.8% respectively. Accuracy of lung ultrasound was 94.4% and that of chest x-ray was 80.6% in relation to CT chest the gold standard with accuracy 100%. Superiority of lung US findings over CXR findings could be explained by high sensitivity & specificity of lung US in diagnosing pneumonia in comparison with chest x ray as high resolution CT is a gold standred for the study. Conclusion LUS is a sensitive and highly specific diagnostic tool in pneumonia. Therefore, we hypothesize that Lung US may be considered as the first imaging test inpatients with suspicion of pneumonia. It should be noted, however, that the ability of LUS to detect lung consolidations located in peri-hilar regions is limited. A diagnostic algorithm of pneumonia which includes Lung US should be validated in prospective studies. Monitoring there solution of pneumonia can be another application of Lung US inpatients with pneumonia.