Combined use of cardiopulmonary ultrasound in the diagnosis of pulmonary edema in patients with heart failure: a retrospective analysis

Background: Heart failure (HF) is generally complicated with pulmonary edema (PE), the early diagnosis and treatment is essential. We aimed to evaluate the effects of combined use of cardiopulmonary ultrasound in the diagnosis of PE in HF patients, to provide reference for the management of HF. Methods: HF patients treated in our hospital from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 were included. All patients underwent echocardiography and lung ultrasonography, and analyzed the characteristics of patients and related detected results. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the potential risk factors. And the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was conducted to compare the predictive value of factors. Results: A total of 183 HF patients were included, the incidence of PE in HF patients was 62.84%. Logistic regression analyses indicated that NT-proBNP (OR 2.24, 95% CI: 1.28–5.04), LAVI (OR 2.03, 95% CI: 1.02–4.45), E/e’ (OR 1.57, 95% CI: 0.13–2.28), SPAP (OR 1.35, 95% CI: 0.02–2.84) were the independent risk factors for PE in patients with HF (all P<0.05). The AUC of NT-proBNP, LAVI, E/e’ and SPAP were 0.705, 0.668, 0.674 and 0.691 respectively. NT-proBNP ≥8,842.37 ng/L, LAVI ≥42.14 mL/m 2 , E/e’ ≥19.20, SPAP ≥38.16 mmHg were the independent risk factors for PE in patients with HF (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Combined use of cardiopulmonary ultrasound is beneficial to the early diagnosis of PE in patients with HF, and early interventions are needed for those patients with risk factors.