Pulmonary ultrasound and pulse oximetry versus chest radiography and arterial blood gas analysis for the diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome: a pilot study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of subjects and study assessments

Characteristic	Number	Percent
Patients	77
Male	52	68
Age, median (IQR)	56 (41–67)
Number undergoing 2 assessments	13	17
Number undergoing 3 assessments	3	4
Number undergoing ≥4 assessments	8	10
Assessments	123
Site:
MICU	45	37
SICU	49	40
NICU	29	24
Diagnosis:
Sepsis	36	29
Trauma	31	25
Postsurgery	24	20
CVA	21	17
Cardiogenic pulmonary edema	21	17
Pneumonia	20	16
PEA or VF arrest	13	11
PE	10	8
ARDS	10	8
Overdose	9	7
Seizure	7	6
Pancreatitis	7	6
COPD	6	5
FiO₂ at time of ABG, median (IQR)	0.40 (0.30–0.50)
PaO₂/FiO₂, median (IQR)	250 (180–337)
SpO₂ % at time of ABG, median (IQR)	99 (97–100)
Bilateral opacities on CXR	42	34

Patients may have more than one diagnosis at the time of assessment. ABG arterial blood gas, ARDS acute respiratory distress syndrome, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CVA Cerebrovascular Accident, CXR chest x-ray, IQR interquartile range, MICU Medical Intensive Care Unit, NICU Neurological Intensive Care Unit, PE Pulmonary Embolism, PEA Pulseless Electrical Activity, SICU Surgical Intensive Care Unit, SpO2 pulse oximetric oxygen saturation, VF Ventricular Fibrillation