Focused Lung Ultrasound: A Prospective Cohort Study in General Practice

The participating GPs use ultrasonography on a weekly basis and will use the ultrasonography device already available to them; however, the ultrasound machine system and type of transducer will be reported. The GPs will use a 14-zone FLUS scanning protocol that has previously been validated in a general practice setting. Each of the scanning zones on the patient's left side can be denoted from 1L to 7L and from 1R to 7R on the right side. Each scanning zone should be assessed using FLUS. The transducer is placed in the middle of a scanning zone making a cross sectional image of an intercostal space and the underlying pleura blades. The patients will be examined in an upright position. The GPs will be trained in the 14-zone scanning protocol during a FLUS training program prior to recruitment of patients. FLUS pathological findings are predefined, and the variables will be dichotomized into present or not present for each scanning zone.