A Feasible Simplified Pulmonary Ultrasound Scoring System for Evaluating Interstitial Lung Disease

Transthoracic lung ultrasound is becoming increasingly important in the diagnosis and treatment of interstitial lung disease. However, no standard examination has been developed for pulmonary ultrasound scanning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of simplified transthoracic pulmonary ultrasound scoring through 6 intercostal spaces for the assessment of interstitial lung disease severity. Two hundred nineteen patients who underwent pulmonary ultrasound at our institution were included. Patients were divided into a non-interstitial lung disease group (57 participants) and an interstitial lung disease group (162 participants). The 6-intercostal space method was used for pulmonary ultrasound examination and scoring. The Warrick score of high-resolution computed tomography and lung function indicators were used as the gold standards to evaluate the consistency of the 3 methods in grading interstitial lung disease severity. When lung function indicators were used as the gold standard, a strong consistency was observed between the 6-rib interstitial lung ultrasound scores and the lung function indicators (κ value = 0.841, 95% CI = 0.740-0.941); a strong consistency was also observed between the high-resolution computed tomography scores and the lung function indicators (κ value = 0.664, 95% CI = 0.525-0.803). When the high-resolution computed tomography score was used as the gold standard, a strong consistency was observed between the 6-rib interstitial lung ultrasound score and the high-resolution computed tomography score (κ value of 0.718 (95% CI = 0.618-0.818). A simplified 6-intercostal space pulmonary ultrasound score can be used to evaluate interstitial lung disease severity and better facilitate clinical treatment.