Lung POCUS in a breathless patient

Key Learning Points

• Loss of lung sliding on POCUS is the primary marker for pneumothorax; however, there are other causes as well.
• The transition zone between sliding and absent sliding on ultrasound (lung point) confirms pneumothorax and localizes its edge.
• Lung POCUS should be used with clinical context of the patient and not in isolation.

References

1. Volpicelli G, Elbarbary M, Blaivas M, et al. International evidence-based recommendations for point-of-care lung ultrasound. Intensive care medicine. 2012 Apr;38:577-91.
2. Lichtenstein DA, Meziere GA. Relevance of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of acute respiratory failure*: the BLUE protocol. Chest. 2008 Jul 1;134(1):117-25.
3. Soldati G, Demi M, Inchingolo R, Smargiassi A, Demi L. On the physical basis of pulmonary sonographic interstitial syndrome. Journal of ultrasound in medicine: official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. 2016 Aug 8;35(10):2075-86.
4. Marini TJ, Rubens DJ, Zhao YT, Weis J, O’connor TP, Novak WH, Kaproth-Joslin KA. Lung ultrasound: the essentials. Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging. 2021 Apr 29;3(2):e200564.