Lung Ultrasound in Monitoring Pneumonia Progression in adults in ICU

Background: Pneumonia has been identified as a forgotten threat to human health. Lower respiratory tract infections are the primary cause of mortality associated with infectious diseases on a global scale, and they rank as the foremost cause of mortality in low-income nations. Aim: To monitor the progression of pneumonia in adults in the respiratory ICU by lung ultrasound. Patients and methods: This prospective observational cross-sectional research involved 50 individuals with clinical and radiological signs of pneumonia who required admission to the ICU and were admitted to Al-Hussein and Bab El Sharia University Hospital in the RCU from May 2023 until January 2024. Results: In the studied cases, there was a greatly statistically significant association (p-value < 0.001) between mortality and lung ultrasound severity index (LUSI) at 3 weeks. Regarding chest X-rays, there were 41 patients (82%) with opacity and five patients (10%) with effusion. As regards chest CT, there were 42 patients (84%) with lung infiltration, divided into 29 patients (58%) with consolidation, 13 patients (26%) with GGO, ten patients (20%) with effusion, four patients (8%) with mass-like lesions, and two patients (4%) with bronchiectasis. Conclusion: Lung ultrasound is cost-effective, repeatable, and radiation-free at the bedside, making it an alternative to chest CT in monitoring disease degree and death risk. It is more sensitive in detecting parapneumonic effusion, adhesions, and septations that may complicate pneumonia.