Clinical Use of Lung Ultrasound by Emergency and Intensive Care Physicians: A Swiss National Survey

Lung ultrasound (LUS) has gained popularity in the emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU). However, little is known about its use, training, indications, and implementation barriers. Therefore, we performed a survey to evaluate the current practice of LUS among ED and ICU physicians with varying experience levels across regions in Switzerland.

A 27-question online survey was disseminated across 108 EDs and 75 ICUs using snowball sampling via department heads.

Of all 198 participants from 183 invited departments (49.0% ED physicians, 42.3% ICU physicians, 8.7% from other specialties), 190 (95.5%) use ultrasound and 164 (82.8%) use LUS in their clinical practice. Predominantly, LUS is utilized for evaluating dyspnea (95.9%), shock (76.2%), and hypoxemia (73.5%). ICU physicians used LUS more for invasive procedures, while less experienced physicians had lower certification rates. Standardized protocols for LUS examination or documentation were reported by only 22.5% and 38.9% of responders, respectively. The main barriers identified were time constraints, lack of training opportunities, and underestimation of LUSs diagnostic value.

LUS is widely adopted and considered highly relevant by ED and ICU physicians. However, disparities in usage and proficiency were observed between ICU and non-ICU physicians, as well as between more and less experienced practitioners. Addressing the identified training gaps and promoting standardized protocol adoption are imperative for optimizing LUSs integration into patient care.