The Impact of Thoracic Ultrasound on Clinical Management of Critically Ill Patients (UltraMan): An International Prospective Observational Study*

Objectives:To investigate the impact of thoracic ultrasound (TUS) examinations on clinical management in adult ICU patients. Design:A prospective international observational study. Setting:Four centers in The Netherlands and Italy. Patients:Adult ICU patients (> 18 yr) that received a clinically indicated lung ultrasound examination. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Clinicians performing TUS completed a pre- and post-examination case report form. Patient characteristics, TUS, and resulting clinical effects were recorded. First, change of management, defined as a TUS-induced change in clinical impression leading to a change in treatment plan, was reported. Second, execution of intended management changes within 8 hours was verified. Third, change in fluid balance after 8 hours was calculated. A total of 725 TUS performed by 111 operators across 534 patients (mean age 63 +/- 15.0, 70% male) were included. Almost half of TUS caused a change in clinical impression, which resulted in change of management in 39% of cases. The remainder of TUS confirmed the clinical impression, while a minority (4%) did not contribute. Eighty-nine percent of management changes indicated by TUS were executed within 8 hours. TUS examinations that led to a change in fluid management also led to distinct and appropriate changes in patient's fluid balance. Conclusions:In this international observational study in adult ICU patients, use of TUS had a major impact on clinical management. These results provide grounds for future randomized controlled trials to determine if TUS-induced changes in decision-making also lead to improved health outcomes.