Pulmonary edema is a frequent condition found in adult patients hospitalized in cardiology wards and intensive care units. Ultrasonography is a diagnostic modality with a high sensitivity for the detection of extravascular lung water, visualized as B lines, and usually caused by cardiogenic or noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. This paper highlights a simple method for the assessment of patients with pulmonary edema, which allows for a differential diagnosis of its possible mechanism and contributes to therapeutic intervention guiding and monitoring.
Keywords: echocardiography; extravascular lung water; pulmonary edema; ultrasonography; ultrasound A lines; ultrasound B lines; ultrasound lung comets.
© 2016, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.