Chest sonography in interstitial lung disease.

Up to now, sonography of the thorax has not been taken into consideration i n cases of interstitial lung disease because of its technical limitations. This study was aimed at examining pleural and subpleural alterations in cas es of interstitial lung disease and comparing the scanographic method with the usual imaging procedures such as x-ray and computer tomography. Patient s and Methods: 24 patients, aged 25 to 70 who were diagnosed as suffering f rom an interstitial lung disease and underwent sonography of the thorax, we re analysed with regard to the following criteria: 1 pleural effusions, 2 p leural fragmentations, 3 subpleural infiltrations >2 mm, 4 pleural nodules. Results: Six patients were diagnosed to have small pleural effusions which had not been visible on x-ray-scans. 14 patients showed pleural fragmentat ions, 10 patients had subpleural infiltrations, and in one patient pleural nodules could be detected. Out of the 24 patients suffering interstitial lu ng disease, sonographic alterations were diagnosed in 17 cases (=71%). Amon g the 9 patients definitively suffering from sarcoidosis, five had had a co mpletely inconspicuous ultrasonic result, four of them with sarcoidosis sta ge I. Conclusion: Sonography of the thorax has proved to be an excellent co mplementing examination method in cases of interstitial lung disease. The a dvantages lie in the possible detection of small pleural effusions and smal l subpleural infiltrations, where this method can also be used to monitor t herapy.