Lung Ultrasound for Diagnosing Patients with Severe Dyspnea and Acute Hypoxic Respiratory Failure.

Acute hypoxic respiratory failure can be caused by severe pneumonia, cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Differentiating between these causes in critically ill patients can be challenging. Lung ultrasound (LUS) evaluation of acute respiratory failure has been developed and adopted only recently. LUS offers promise as a valuable clinical tool for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with severe dyspnea and acute hypoxic respiratory failure.