Dyspnea is a frequent symptom in patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED); discriminating between cardiogenic and non-cardiogenic dyspnea is a common clinical dilemma. The initial diagnostic work-out is often not very accurate in defining the etiology and the underlying pathophysiology. In the last years, lung ultrasound (US) has emerged as a useful real-time bedside diagnostic tool in the critical patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy, reproducibility, and diagnostic impact of pleural and lung US, performed by emergency physicians at the time of patient first presentation to the ED, in identifying cardiac causes of acute dyspnea.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients had to present to the ED with a principal complaint of shortness of breath, defined as either the sudden onset of dyspnea with no history of chronic dyspnea or an increase in the severity of chronic dyspnea in the last 48 hours;
• Presence of an emergency physician with lung US experience at the time of enrollment;
• US examination within 30 minutes after the start of the clinical evaluation.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Dyspnea cases clearly due to neither cardiogenic nor respiratory etiology will considered not eligible.

Hospital Emergency Departments sample