Correlation of functional data with diaphragm measurements evaluated by ultrasound in patients with Interstitial Lung Disease

Background; Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of disorders characterized by fibrosis (scarring) of the lungs. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical usefulness of chest ultrasonography in the evaluation of stable ILD patients, focusing on diaphragmatic measurements and their correlation with spirometry parameters. Methods; Clinical symptoms, physical examination findings, age, gender and comorbidity data were recorded in all patients. All patients underwent transthoracic ultrasonography (TUS) to evaluate diaphragmatic excursion, thickness and lung B line scores. Respiratory function tests were performed on all patients. Results; In a prospective study, we enrolled 90 stable ILD patients. The mean B-line score for all patients was 4.29±2.2. B line scores showed statistically significant negative correlations with diaphragmatic assessments and spirometric measurements (p<0.05). Concerning the correlation between diaphragmatic measurements (thickness and excursion), and spirometric results of ILD patients, Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that diaphragmatic thickness had a significant positive correlation with spirometric measures. In contrast, no significant correlation was found between spirometric measures and diaphragm excursion. Conclusions; This study demonstrated a correlation between diaphragmatic measurements obtained by transthoracic ultrasonography and pulmonary function tests in patients with ILD. In the future, TUS in cases of ILD may be a useful tool to monitor disease course and treatment response.