Critical care ultrasonography in acute respiratory failure

Table 2 Chest ultrasonographic findings associated with the main lung diseases

	Normal lung	Pneumothorax	Interstitial syndrome	Pulmonary edema^a	Pneumonia	Pulmonary embolism	Fibrosis	Lymphangitis
A-lines	Present	Present or absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Present when central pulmonary embolism	Absent	Absent or present
B-lines	Absent except rare B line in lower intercostal spaces	Rules out pneumothorax	Present proportional with interstitial syndrome intensity	Present +++	Present ++	Absent	Present	Present
Condensation	Absent	Absent	Absent	Present in case of massive edema	Present +++ except when pneumonia not in contact with pleura	Subpleural condensation in case of peripheral infarct	Absent	Absent
Lung sliding	Present	When present rules out pneumothorax	Present	Present	Present	Absent or present	Absent or present	Absent or present
Lung point	Absent	Pathognomic of pneumothorax	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
Pleural effusion	Absent	Absent	Absent	Might be present	Present+	Might be present	Absent	Might be present

ISSN: 1364-8535