A prospective cohort study of thoracic ultrasound in acute respiratory failure: the <i>C₃PO</i> protocol

Abstract

Thoracic ultrasound has clinical utility in non-intubated adults with acute respiratory failure managed outside intensive care settings. It changed aetiological diagnosis, increases diagnostic confidence and altered clinical management in one out of three patients scanned. Our results suggest extended utility of thoracic ultrasound in acute respiratory failure to a broader context outside the intensive care unit population.