Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40194875›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Lung ultrasound for the diagnosis and monitoring of pneumonia in a tuberculosis-endemic setting: a prospective study.

Quoc-Khanh Tran-Le, Thanh Truc Thai, Nguyen Tran-Ngoc, Ngoc Duong-Minh, Lam Nguyen-Ho, Khoa Nguyen-Dang, Phung Tran Huy Nhat, Luigi Pisani, Nam Vu-Hoai, Vu Le-Thuong

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Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Quoc-Khanh Tran-Le *Department of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7788-3767
Thanh Truc Thai *Department of Medical Statistics and Informatics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2512-8281
Nguyen Tran-NgocDepartment of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
Ngoc Duong-MinhDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam.
Lam Nguyen-HoDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam.
Khoa Nguyen-DangDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam.
Phung Tran Huy NhatKing's College London School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, London, UK.
Luigi PisaniDepartment of Precision-Regenerative Medicine and Jonic Area (DiMePRe-J), Section of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Puglia, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7177-3594
Nam Vu-HoaiDepartment of Pulmonary, Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam vu.lt1@umc.edu.vn vuhoainamcrh@gmail.com.
Vu Le-ThuongDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam vu.lt1@umc.edu.vn vuhoainamcrh@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lung ultrasound (LUS) has proven high diagnostic accuracy for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in developed countries. However, its diagnostic performance in resource-limited settings with high pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) incidence is less established. Additionally, the role of LUS in monitoring CAP progression remains underexplored.

objectivesTo validate the diagnostic performance, monitoring and prognostic utility of LUS for CAP in a high pulmonary TB incidence setting.

designProspective single-centre cohort study.

settingPulmonary department of a tertiary hospital in Vietnam.

participantsA total of 158 patients suspected of having CAP were enrolled, with 136 (mean age 62 years, 72.8% male) included in the final analysis.

interventionsPatients underwent LUS and chest X-ray (CXR) within 24 hours of admission, with a follow-up LUS on days 5-8. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of LUS and CXR compared with discharge diagnosis. Secondary outcomes included the accuracy compared with CT scan results, changes in LUS parameters-consolidation size, number and Lung Ultrasound Score (LUSS)-and their association with in-hospital mortality.

resultsLUS demonstrated higher sensitivity than CXR (96.0% (95% CI 90.0% to 99.0%) vs 82.8% (95% CI 73.9% to 89.7%)). LUS specificity was 64.9% (95% CI 47.5% to 80.0%), compared with 54.1% (95% CI 36.9% to 70.5%) for CXR. The moderate specificity for LUS was due to sonographic-similar conditions, notably TB in 5.1% of patients. Consolidation size and numbers showed marginal resolution, while LUSS showed more pronounced decreases over time. The baseline LUSS showed limited discriminative ability for predicting mortality (area under the curve, AUC 0.65, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.75), while follow-up LUSS and changes in LUSS (ΔLUSS) demonstrated higher levels of discrimination (AUC 0.81 (95% CI 0.71 to 0.89) and 0.89 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.95), respectively). For each one-point increase in ΔLUSS, the odds of in-hospital mortality went up by 70% (p=0.002). An improved LUSS effectively ruled out mortality (negative predictive value 97.4%).

conclusionAlthough LUS is highly sensitive for diagnosing CAP, its specificity in TB-endemic regions warrants further caution. Serial LUS assessments, particularly monitoring LUSS changes, are valuable for tracking disease progression and prognostication, with increasing LUSS indicating potential clinical deterioration.

Indexed as

Community-Acquired InfectionsLungPneumoniaTuberculosis, PulmonaryAdultAgedEndemic DiseasesFemaleHospital MortalityHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisProspective StudiesSensitivity and SpecificityTomography, X-Ray ComputedDiagnostic ImagingPrognosisRespiratory infectionsTuberculosisUltrasound

Identifiers

PMID40194875
PMCPMC11977466

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.