Bedside Lung Ultrasound in Emergency (BLUE) Protocol: A Suggestion to Modify

Abstract

In the article by Lichtenstein et al (July 2008),1 the authors describe the use of lung ultrasound in evaluating patients with acute respiratory failure. The algorithmic approach Bedside Lung Ultrasound in Emergency, the BLUE protocol, is described with a diagnostic accuracy of 90.5%. Three hundred and one consecutive patients with acute respiratory failure were assessed; 260 were included (cardiogenic pulmonary edema, 64; pneumonia, 83; decompensated COPD, 49; acute asthma, 34; pulmonary embolism, 21; and pneumothorax, 9) and 41 were excluded from the study (rare causes, 9; no final diagnosis, 16; and several final diagnoses, 16).