Value of Chest Ultrasonography in ILD Screening

Role od Chest Ultrasonography in Interstitial Lung Diseases

The main aim of this study is to detect the value of transthoracic ultrasonography in the diagnosis and assessment of ILDs in correlation to chest X- ray, blood gases, pulmonary function test and echocardiography and to compare it with high resolution CT (HRCT) as a golden diagnostic investigation.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) refers to a group of disorders that are characterized by varying combinations of inflammation and fibrosis involving the space between the epithelial and endothelial basement membranes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults (≥18 years) diagnosed with ILD
• All patients must fulfil the 2018 criteria for HRCT chest finding for the diagnosis of Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) form

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with cardiac diseases (Left-sided Heart failure, pulmonary edema) [they may have findings of multiple B lines on transthoracic ultrasound examination which mimic ILD findings].
• Patients with chronic kidney diseases (as patients presented with nephrogenic pulmonary edema may have findings of multiple B lines on transthoracic ultrasound examination which mimic ILD findings).