Assessment of lung ultrasound for early detection of respiratory complications in thoracic surgery

Background and objectives: To assess lung ultrasound for the diagnosis and monitoring of respiratory complications in thoracic surgery. Methods: Prospective observational study in a University hospital, single institution. Adult patients scheduled for pulmonary resection surgery excluding pneumonectomy. An ultrasound follow-up was performed from the day before the surgery to the third day after surgery with calculation of B-line and lung score (reaeration and loss of aeration scores). Respiratory complications were collected throughout the hospitalization period. Results: Fifty-six patients were included. Eighteen patients presented a respiratory complication (32%), and they presented significantly higher BMI and ASA scores. Patients operated by videothoracoscopy were less at risk of complications. At day 3, a reaeration score < 2 on the ventilated side or -2 on the operated side, and a B-line score 6 on the operated side were in favor of a complication. Conclusion: Lung ultrasound can help in the diagnosis of respiratory complications following pulmonary resection surgery. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. on behalf of Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).