Accuracy of Nurse-Performed Lung Ultrasound in Patients With Acute Dyspnea: A Prospective Observational Study.

ABSTRACT: In clinical practice lung ultrasound (LUS) is becoming an easy and reliable noninvasive tool for the evaluation of dyspnea. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of nurse-performed LUS, in particular, in the diagnosis of acute cardiogenic pulmonary congestion. We prospectively evaluated all the consecutive patients admitted for dyspnea in our Medicine Department between April and July 2014. At admission, serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and LUS was performed by trained nurses blinded to clinical and laboratory data. The accuracy of nurse-performed LUS alone and combined with BNP for the diagnosis of acute cardiogenic dyspnea was calculated. Two hundred twenty-six patients (41.6% men, mean age 78.7 ± 12.7 years) were included in the study. Nurse-performed LUS alone ha

SUBMITTER: Mumoli N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4782880 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature