title: Strong correlation between lung ultrasound and chest computerized tomography imaging for the detection of acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a clinical imaging technique for diagnosing acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In humans and several large animals, LUS demonstrates similar specificity and sensitivity to computerized tomography (CT) scanning. Current study evaluated the degree of agreement between LUS and CT imaging in characterizing ALI/ARDS in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were imaged by LUS before randomization into three groups to receive intratracheal saline, 3 or 6 mg/kg LPS respectively (n=10). LUS and CT imaging was conducted 2 hours after instillation. Cross table analyses and kappa statistics were used to determine agreement levels between LUS and CT assessments of lung condition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before instillation, rats presented with a largely A-pattern in LUS images, however, a significantly increase B-lines were observed in all groups after instillation and showed dose response to LPS or to saline. One rat treated with 6 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) presented with lung consolidation. The agreement between the LUS and the CT in detecting the main characteristics of ALI/ARDS in rat was strong (r=0.758, P<0.01, k=0.737).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, LUS detects ALI/ARDS with high agreement with micro PET/CT scanning in a rat model, suggesting that LUS represents a positive refinement in rat ALI/ARDS disease models.
authors: Department of Cardiology, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510080, China;; Department of Critical Care Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China;
authors: Huan
authors: H
authors: Ma
authors: Department of Intensive Care, Guangdong Geriatric Institute, Guangdong General Hospital/Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510080, China ;
authors: Daozheng
authors: D
authors: Huang
authors: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China ;
authors: Liheng
authors: L
authors: Guo
authors: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China ;
authors: Quanfu
authors: Q
authors: Chen
authors: Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors: Wenzhao
authors: W
authors: Zhong
authors: Department of Cardiology, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510080, China ;
authors: Qingshan
authors: Q
authors: Geng
authors: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China ;
authors: Minzhou
authors: M
authors: Zhang
keywords: Acute lung injury (ALI); acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); computerized tomography (CT); lung ultrasound (LUS); refinement