Training for Lung Ultrasound Score Measurement in Critically Ill Patients

Abstract

than 5 ml/kg PBW, mean EFFi increased from 0.722 to 0.736, or by 1.8 6 0.8% (mean 6 SD).The exact value chosen for VANA appears not to be critical.Therefore, a moderate error in flow sensor calibration is of low importance.In future studies, EFFi should be compared with alternative parameters (e.g., VAE/VT proposed by Lucangelo and colleagues [10]).Because EFFi and VDphys/VT reflect uneven V : /Q : among lung compartments, it was expected that they correlate closely.EFFi is easier to study, as it is noninvasive and may be continuously monitored.The study is limited to small groups.However, at health, the results show a low degree of variation, as expected from absence of variability caused by disease.The total separation between health and ARDS indicates that, in mechanically ventilated patients, EFFi may be useful for monitoring of ARDS evolution.This aspect is strengthened by the fact that EFFi may automatically, continuously, and noninvasively be monitored in the individual patient, who then serves as his own standard of reference.EFFi merits further studies in broad materials covering ARDS and other diseases, performed with modern capnographic equipment.