Vertical displacement of pleura: a new method for bronchospasm evaluation?

View/ Open
Issue date
2020Author
Martins, Sara Raquel
Nogue Bou, Ramon Maria
Suggested citation
Martins, Sara Raquel;
Nogue Bou, Ramon Maria;
.
(2020)
.
Vertical displacement of pleura: a new method for bronchospasm evaluation?.
The Ultrasound Journal, 2020, vol. 12, Article number 42.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13089-020-00184-5.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Background: Lung ultrasonography has been increasingly recognized has a valuable diagnostic tool. In adult patients with asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and wheezing, LUS usually presents as an A/nude profile (normal profile, with sliding and A-lines, and without any abnormal findings) or at most reveals a decrease/absence of lung sliding. Therefore, until now simple point-of-care ultrasonography appeared to be unable to assess the severity of airflow limitation. Case presentation: We report the case of a woman presenting to the emergency department with an asthma exacerbation. Bedside ultrasound showed the usual A/normal profile, but also an associated vertical pleural displacement, probably secondary to hyperinflation and accessory muscle recruitment. We evaluated the described movement with M-mode and established a comparison index between end-inspiration and end-expiration, using the skin as reference. This index showed improvement and complete normalization during treatment.
Conclusions: Pleural vertical displacement appears to be a sonographic alteration associated to bronchospasm and accessory muscle recruitment. It is easily identifiable and measurable on LUS, thus possibly representing a new method to evaluate bronchospasm and monitoring treatment response. Further research is needed to confirm or refute this finding.
Is part of
The Ultrasound Journal, 2020, vol. 12, Article number 42European research projects
Collections
The following license files are associated with this item: