Reliability of crackles in fibrotic interstitial lung disease: a prospective, longitudinal study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although crackles on chest auscultation represent a fundamental component of the diagnostic suspect for fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD), their reliability has not been properly studied. We assessed the agreement among respiratory physicians on the presence and changes over time of audible crackles collected in a prospective longitudinal cohort of patients with fibrotic ILD.

Methods

Lung sounds were digitally recorded at baseline and after 12 months at eight anatomical sites. Nine respiratory physicians blindly assessed randomized couples of recordings obtained from the same anatomical site at different timepoints. The physicians indicated the presence of crackles in individual recordings and which recording from each couple eventually had more intense cra

SUBMITTER: Sgalla G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11439279 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature