Comparison of Expert and Novice Sonographers’ Performance in Focused Lung Ultrasonography in Dyspnea (FLUID) to Diagnose Patients With Acute Heart Failure Syndrome

摘要

ObjectivesThe goal of this study was to examine the ability of emergency physicians who are not experts in emergency ultrasound (US) to perform lung ultrasonography and to identify B-lines. The hypothesis was that novice sonographers are able to perform lung US and identify B-lines after a brief intervention. In addition, the authors examined the diagnostic accuracy of B-lines in undifferentiated dyspneic patients for the diagnosis of acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS), using an eight-lung-zone technique as well as an abbreviated two-lung-zone technique.