Lung Ultrasound: A Leading Diagnostic Tool

Dear Colleagues,

Today, the diagnostic value of the artefactual information provided by lung ultrasound (LUS) is widely recognized by physicians. By carefully observing LUS images, an expert physician can derive important information regarding the nature of a pulmonary disease. The mechanisms at the basis of the vertical artifacts have also been investigated, and similar events have been replicated on lung models in various research laboratories. As a result, plausible hypotheses on the genesis of artefactual information have been suggested, allowing the physician to link the observed artifacts to a pathological distribution of the alveoli.

Over the years, thoracic ultrasound has been extensively applied to assess numerous pleural and lung diseases (effusions, pneumothorax, consolidations, interstitial diseases involving the surface of the lung and, recently, COVID-19 pulmonary involvement). Sometimes, its diagnostic capability is reported as being better than that of traditional imaging techniques (chest radiography and CT). Even though the debate on the safety of ultrasound is still open, thoracic ultrasound is mostly accepted as an inexpensive and minimally invasive technique, and due to this additional aspect, LUS is becoming a leading diagnostic tool in the work-up of many cardiorespiratory diseases.

Given the success of this Special Issue and the current pandemic context that is highlighting the importance of lung ultrasound, the deadline for manuscript submissions has been extended to 30 September 2022.

We look forward to your contribution.

Dr. Marcello Demi
Dr. Gino Soldati
Guest Editors

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