BACKGROUND: Ultrasound lung comets (ULCs) are an echographic sign of extravascular lung water, that originate from water-thickened interlobular septa. AIM: To establish the echocardiographic correlates of ULCs. METHODS: 340 in-hospital patients (68 +/- 12years, 115 females) admitted to adult cardiology department underwent upon admission a separate evaluation of chest ULCs and a comprehensive 2D and Doppler echocardiography assessment, including the degree of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (from 0 = normal to 3 = restrictive pattern). A patient ULC score has been obtained by summing the number of ULCs from each of the scanning spaces in the anterior right and left chest, from second to fifth intercostal space. RESULTS: Multivariate linear regression analysis identified New York Heart Association (NYHA) class (OR = 2.1, CI = 1.4-2.9), ejection fraction (OR 0.954, CI = 0.928-0.981) and degree of diastolic dysfunction (OR = 2.438, CI = 1.418-4.190) as the only parameters independently associated to the number of ULCs. CONCLUSION: ULCs are a simple echographic sign of extravascular lung water, more frequently associated with left ventricular diastolic and/or systolic dysfunction. ULCs can usefully integrate the clinical and pathophysiological information provided by conventional 2D and Doppler echocardiography, in patients with known or suspected heart failure and dyspnoea as a presenting symptom.
BACKGROUND: Ultrasound lung comets (ULCs) are an echographic sign of extravascular lung water, that originate from water-thickened interlobular septa. AIM: To establish the echocardiographic correlates of ULCs. METHODS: 340 in-hospital patients (68 +/- 12years, 115 females) admitted to adult cardiology department underwent upon admission a separate evaluation of chest ULCs and a comprehensive 2D and Doppler echocardiography assessment, including the degree of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (from 0 = normal to 3 = restrictive pattern). A patient ULC score has been obtained by summing the number of ULCs from each of the scanning spaces in the anterior right and left chest, from second to fifth intercostal space. RESULTS: Multivariate linear regression analysis identified New York Heart Association (NYHA) class (OR = 2.1, CI = 1.4-2.9), ejection fraction (OR 0.954, CI = 0.928-0.981) and degree of diastolic dysfunction (OR = 2.438, CI = 1.418-4.190) as the only parameters independently associated to the number of ULCs. CONCLUSION: ULCs are a simple echographic sign of extravascular lung water, more frequently associated with left ventricular diastolic and/or systolic dysfunction. ULCs can usefully integrate the clinical and pathophysiological information provided by conventional 2D and Doppler echocardiography, in patients with known or suspected heart failure and dyspnoea as a presenting symptom.
Authors: Giovanni Volpicelli; Mahmoud Elbarbary; Michael Blaivas; Daniel A Lichtenstein; Gebhard Mathis; Andrew W Kirkpatrick; Lawrence Melniker; Luna Gargani; Vicki E Noble; Gabriele Via; Anthony Dean; James W Tsung; Gino Soldati; Roberto Copetti; Belaid Bouhemad; Angelika Reissig; Eustachio Agricola; Jean-Jacques Rouby; Charlotte Arbelot; Andrew Liteplo; Ashot Sargsyan; Fernando Silva; Richard Hoppmann; Raoul Breitkreutz; Armin Seibel; Luca Neri; Enrico Storti; Tomislav Petrovic Journal: Intensive Care Med Date: 2012-03-06 Impact factor: 17.440
Authors: Claudia Torino; Luna Gargani; Rosa Sicari; Krzysztof Letachowicz; Robert Ekart; Danilo Fliser; Adrian Covic; Kostas Siamopoulos; Aristeidis Stavroulopoulos; Ziad A Massy; Enrico Fiaccadori; Alberto Caiazza; Thomas Bachelet; Itzchak Slotki; Alberto Martinez-Castelao; Marie-Jeanne Coudert-Krier; Patrick Rossignol; Faikah Gueler; Thierry Hannedouche; Vincenzo Panichi; Andrzej Wiecek; Giuseppe Pontoriero; Pantelis Sarafidis; Marian Klinger; Radovan Hojs; Sarah Seiler-Mussler; Fabio Lizzi; Dimitrie Siriopol; Olga Balafa; Linda Shavit; Rocco Tripepi; Francesca Mallamaci; Giovanni Tripepi; Eugenio Picano; Gérard Michel London; Carmine Zoccali Journal: Clin J Am Soc Nephrol Date: 2016-09-22 Impact factor: 8.237