A simplified lung ultrasound for the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease in connective tissue disease: a meta-analysis

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common complication of connective tissue disease (CTD) and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. There are various lung ultrasound (LUS) scoring systems with different lung intercostal spaces (LIS). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to find a simplified LUS method for the assessment of CTD-ILD.

We systematically retrieved lung ultrasound diagnostic studies on CTD-ILD in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Summary diagnostic accuracy, including sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC), was analyzed. Subgroup analysis was conducted according to different LIS and diseases.

The 11 studies included in this meta-analysis comprised a total of 487 patients with CTD. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the LUS were 0.859 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.812–0.898) and 0.839 (95% CI 0.782–0.886), respectively, illustrating its great value for CTD-ILD diagnosis. In addition, there were six methods to evaluate LIS, including 72, 65, 50, 14, 10, and all LIS. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of 14 LIS were 0.982 (95% CI 0.904–1.000) and 0.875 (95% CI 0.710–0.965), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odd ratio (DOR) of 14 LIS were 7.297 (95% CI 6.050–17.45), 0.029 (95% CI 0.006–0.147), and 292.30 (95% CI 35.53–2403.8), respectively. Moreover, the AUC for systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was 0.929 and 0.981, respectively; the DOR for SSc and RA was 42.93 (95% CI 17.75–103.79) and 80.24 (95% CI 8.107–796.09), respectively.

We found a modified and simplified method of LUS, by scanning 14 LIS in a short time, which had a very high sensitivity and specificity.