Natalia Buda1, Wojciech Kosiak2, Elżbieta Radzikowska3, Robert Olszewski4,5, Ewa Jassem6, Elżbieta Magdalena Grabczak7, Andrzej Pomiecko8, Jakub Piotrkowski9, Maciej Piskunowicz10, Malwina Sołtysiak7, Szymon Skoczyński11, Grzegorz Jaczewski7, Jolanta Odrowska12, Agnieszka Skoczylas4, Marcin Wełnicki13, Jakub Wiśniewski8, Anna Zamojska14; Polish Committee on Lung Ultrasound (PC-LUS) for POLLUS-IM
Affiliation and address for correspondence
1 Department of Internal Medicine, Connective Tissue Diseases and Geriatrics, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
2 Department of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
3 III Department of Lung Disease, National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
4 Department of Geriatrics, National Institute of Geriatrics Rheumatology and Rehabilitation
5 Department of Ultrasound, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
6 Department of Pneumonology and Allergology, Medial University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
7 Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Allergy, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
8 Department of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Clinical Centre in Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
9 Independent Public Health Care Facility of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs with the Oncology Centre in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
10 Department of Radiology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
11 Department of Pneumology, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
12 A Non-public Health Care Facility “Folk-Med”, Bialogard, Poland
13 3rd Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
14 Department of Econometrics at the Faculty of Management, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
Correspondence: Natalia Buda, Department of Internal Medicine, Connective Tissue Diseases and Geriatrics, Medical University of Gdansk, Dębinki 7, 80-952 Gdansk, Poland; e-mail:
natabud@wp.pl
Polish Committee on Lung Ultrasound
Working subgroup:
– Writing committee: N. Buda, W. Kosiak, E. Radzikowska, E. Jassem, R. Olszewski
– Document reviewers: N. Buda, A. Pomiećko, R. Olszewski, J. Piotrowski
– Analysis of evidence committee: E. Grabczak, E. Radzikowska, N. Buda, W. Kosiak
– Methodology committee: A. Zamojska, N. Buda, J. Wiśniewski
– Other consensus conference members: M. Piskunowicz, M. Sołtysiak, Sz. Skoczyński, G. Jaczewski, J. Odrowska, A. Skoczylas, M. Wełnicki.
– Secretary and coordinator: J. Wiśniewski
– Organizing committee: Polish Committee on Lung Ultrasound (W. Kosiak, N. Buda)
Objective: The aim of this study was to establish recommendations for the use of lung ultrasound in internal medicine, based on reliable data and expert opinions. Methods: The bibliography from the databases (Pubmed, Medline, OVID, Embase) has been fully reviewed up to August 2017. Members of the expert group assessed the credibility of the literature data. Then, in three rounds, a discussion was held on individual recommendations (in accordance with the Delphi procedure) followed by secret voting. Results: Thirty-eight recommendations for the use of lung ultrasound in internal medicine were established as well as discussed and subjected to secret voting in three rounds. The first 31 recommendations concerned the use of ultrasound in the diagnosis of the following conditions: pneumothorax, pulmonary consolidation, pneumonia, atelectasis, pulmonary embolism, malignant neoplastic lesions, interstitial lung lesions, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, interstitial lung diseases with fibrosis, dyspnea, pleural pain and acute cough. Furthermore, seven additional statements were made regarding the technical conditions of lung ultrasound examination and the need for training in the basics of lung ultrasound in a group of doctors during their specialization programs and medical students. The panel of experts established a consensus on all 38 recommendations.
