Is Lung Ultrasound a Valuable Tool for Health Care Providers in the ER and ICU?

Abstract

Background:

Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a feasible and radiation-free diagnostic method to confirm the presence of pulmonary disease. As the role of healthcare professionals (HCP) has significantly expanded over the years, involving LUS in the assessment and care of patients not only benefits patients, but also HCPs themselves. Current evidence supports the use of LUS as a useful alternative to chest radiography in evaluating and diagnosing critically ill patients with possible pulmonary compromise. The main objective of this study was to evaluate HCPs perceptions on the advantages of the use of LUS within the ER and ICU and to assess their knowledge of this procedure.

Methods:

For this cross-sectional study, a survey with 40 items was created using Google Forms and was distributed via email and social media to HCPs and trainees 18 years or older working in ICU and ER in different countries. The survey evaluated demographic information, level of education, clinical experience, and exposure, training, and knowledge of LUS. Google Forms data was exported to an Excel (Microsoft) file where descriptive statistics were used to report the results. IRB approval was obtained.

Results:

A total of 43 participants completed the survey. Most participants were female (65.1%), between ages 18 and 33 (65.1%), from North America (95.3%), and have earned a BS degree (62.8%). Almost half of responses were from RTs (47.6%), followed by healthcare students (21.4%), and nurses (14.3%) working in the ICU (82.1%) with 2 to 10 years of experience (41.9%). Most participants reported that LUS is not used in the ER/ICU setting (50%) or were not sure (23.8%). One-third considered LUS easy to use (35%) whereas no participant had ever performed a LUS in a clinical setting and did not feel comfortable performing it (95.3%) or interpreting it (100%). While most participants (92.7%) did not receive LUS training in school nor on the job, 87% of believed that LUS should be added as part of the healthcare training, and 73.2% believe that it should be a requirement for RTs working in the ICU or ER. Of the technical questions on using LUS, 90% of the participants self-identified as lacking the required knowledge on the application of LUS.

Conclusions:

The results of this study indicate that HCPs working in the ICU or ER consider LUS a valuable diagnostic skill and tool. However, since most participants lack basic application and interpretative skills of this technique in the clinical setting, educational support may be granted.