Correlation of Chest Ultrasound and Pathology in Rabbits with Acute Lung Injury / 中国医学影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

PurposeAcute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome is a common severe disease, this paper aims to explore the pathological basis of diffuse comet-tail artifacts in rabbits with acute lung injury and evaluate the imaging value on pathological changes.Materials and Methods The bilateral anterior chest walls of the rabbits were divided into four zones, namely, left upper zone, right upper zone, left lower zone and right lower zone. The normal chest ultrasound images of the 6 rabbits were obtained. After oleic acid (0.1 ml/kg) was injected, the images of comet-tail artifact in the four lung zones were dynamically observed and stored for 1 hour. The chest ultrasound images were evaluated according to the ultrasound scores. The degree of pathological damage in each lung zone was assessed and analyzed in terms of the correlation with the ultrasound results.Results The animal model of acute lung injury with diffuse comet-tail artifacts was successfully made in all of the 6 rabbits. The main pathological changes of the animal model of oleic acid were diffuse pulmonary edema, congestion and congestive hemorrhage; necrosis was found in 4 rabbits. The area of pulmonary edema, congestion, and congestive hemorrhage increased gradually from top to bottom, and double diaphragm leaves were typical. A significant correlation was found between the ultrasound scores of comet-tail artifacts and the degrees of pathological damage (r=0.819,P<0.05).Conclusion The histological changes of chest diffuse comet-tail artifacts due to acute lung injury are pulmonary edema, congestion and congestive hemorrhage. The scope and density of diffuse comet-tail artifacts may indicate the degree of pulmonary parenchyma injury, which is important as reference to guide the treatment and prognosis.