Use of lung ultrasound surface wave elastography in patients with interstitial lung disease.

Authors

Nuria Albacar, Olatz Saenz de Argandoña, Blanca Domenech-Ximenos, Judit Mestres, Fernanda Hernandez-Gonzalez, Xavier Alsina-Restoy, Estrella Caballeria, Mariasol Martínez-Carranza, Mariana Benegas, Marcelo Sánchez, Ivan Vollmer, Jacobo Sellarés Torres

Published in

BMJ open respiratory research. Volume 13. Issue 1. Oct 07, 2026. Epub Oct 07, 2026.

Abstract

To assess whether lung ultrasound surface wave elastography (LUSWE), a non-invasive measure of lung stiffness, correlates with pulmonary function and high-resolution CT (HRCT) patterns in suspected interstitial lung disease (ILD). We hypothesised that LUSWE-derived lung stiffness would be associated with functional impairment and radiological ILD patterns.
Prospective, single-centre pilot study conducted in a tertiary referral ILD unit in Barcelona, Spain.
68 consecutive patients (41 men and 27 women) with suspected ILD were enrolled between June 2020 and February 2024 and completed LUSWE assessment at diagnosis under clinically stable conditions. Final diagnoses comprised sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema, fibrosing ILD, connective tissue disease-related ILD, other ILD and absence of pulmonary disease.
The primary outcome was the association between LUSWE velocity and pulmonary function parameters, specifically forced vital capacity (FVC) and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO). Secondary outcomes included associations with HRCT radiological patterns, fibrosing vs non-fibrosing ILD, usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP)/probable UIP vs other HRCT patterns and quantitative HRCT-derived fibrosis extent.
LUSWE velocity did not significantly correlate with FVC (r=0.23, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.45; p=0.07) or DLCO (r=0.13, 95% CI -0.12 to 0.36; p=0.31). No significant differences in LUSWE velocity were observed across HRCT patterns (Kruskal-Wallis χ²=1.2018; p=0.8778). Exploratory point-by-point analyses showed one significant association between the R2 point and FVC (r=0.33; p=0.0068), but this did not remain significant after correction for multiple comparisons (adjusted p=0.137). LUSWE distributions were similar between fibrosing and non-fibrosing ILD groups (3.35 (IQR 2.87-4.16) vs 3.55 (IQR 2.98-4.17) m/s; p=0.526) and between UIP/probable UIP and other HRCT patterns (3.36 (IQR 2.89-4.21) vs 3.59 (IQR 2.86-4.15) m/s; p=0.876). Quantitative HRCT analyses also showed weak, non-significant correlations between hemithorax-level fibrosis extent and corresponding LUSWE values.
In this heterogeneous cohort of patients evaluated at diagnosis for suspected ILD, LUSWE was not meaningfully associated with pulmonary function impairment, HRCT patterns or quantitative fibrosis extent. Larger multicentre studies using standardised acquisition protocols and focused on well-defined fibrosing ILD populations with predominant subpleural involvement are needed.

PMID:
42843929
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 08 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.