Extension of the Thoracic Spine Sign

Dickman, Eitan; Terentiev, Victoria; Likourezos, Antonios; Derman, Anna; Haines, Lawrence

doi:10.7863/ultra.15.14.06013

Cited by 25 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In normal, aerated lung, ultrasound waves are scattered and reflected by the air of the lung, obscuring the hyperechoic structure of the thoracic spine superior to the diaphragm. However, when pleural fluid is present, the difference in acoustic impendence between the lung tissue and pleural fluid allows ultrasound waves to travel through the pleural fluid and enable visualisation of the thoracic spine, causing the spine sign 17. A positive spine sign is always pathological.…”

Section: How Do You Interpret Lung Pocus For Pleural Effusion?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lung point-of-care ultrasound in the assessment of pleural effusions

Padrez

Graglia

2023

Emerg Med J

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Section: How Do You Interpret Lung Pocus For Pleural Effusion?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lung point-of-care ultrasound in the assessment of pleural effusions

Padrez

Graglia

2023

Emerg Med J

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“…The sensitivity and specificity of spine sign for detection of more than trace pleural effusion was found to be > 92%. 32…”

Section: Signsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lung Ultrasonographic Signs in Pulmonary Disease – A Video Review

Dugar

Fox

Koratala

et al. 2022

J Intensive Care Med

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Lung ultrasound (US) is a well-established imaging tool in the inpatient and critical care setting. It has proven its worth in the rapid bedside diagnosis of a variety of conditions pertaining to the lungs and the thorax. Lung US was initially introduced as a bedside imaging tool to evaluate the size and characteristics of pleural effusion. Over the years, the field of lung ultrasonography has rapidly expanded introducing nuances in image interpretation. Numerous primary and secondary signs have been described in the literature to identify both normal and abnormal findings. The primary signs can help narrow the list of differential diagnoses, whereas the addition of secondary signs help create an imaging pattern facilitating the confirmation of diagnosis or recognition of the underlying disease process. These wide variety of signs and patterns can present a challenge to the learning of lung ultrasonography, particularly to a novice user. We sought to compile a comprehensive list of these findings to serve as a useful resource to aid effortless adoption of lung ultrasonography in clinical practice. In this review, we narrate the evolution of lung US, describe common protocols applied in performance of the lung US, and illustrate a comprehensive list of common lung US signs and patterns along with their differential diagnosis and clinical utility.

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“…In patients without a pleural effusion and a negative “spine sign,” the spinous processes are not visible above the diaphragm level due to normally aerated lung tissue. In the presence of a pleural effusion, a positive spine sign is present and the spinous processes are visible above the diaphragm (see Figure 10; Dickman, Terentiev, Likourezos, Derman, & Haines, 2015; Irwin & Cook, 2016).…”

Section: Common Lung Conditions Evaluated With Ultrasonographymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Positive spine sign : During normal ventilation, visualization of the transverse spinal processes above the diaphragm level is obscured behind normal aerated and open alveoli. A positive “spine sign” is seen when the transverse spinal processes are visualized above the diaphragm level when there is a pleural effusion and/or lung consolidation present (Dickman et al, 2015).…”

Section: Common Lung Conditions Evaluated With Ultrasonographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasonography

González

Crenshaw

Larrieu-Jimenez

et al. 2021

Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal

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Since the introduction of ultrasonography, clinicians have discovered different uses for embedding this technology in the clinical setting. The use of point-of-care ultrasonography has gained a lot of interest in the emergency department. It is a procedure that a clinician can rapidly utilize to triage, risk stratify, evaluate, and monitor the patient's condition. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance and application of ultrasonography in identifying and managing patients presenting with lung pathology in the emergency setting.

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Extension of the Thoracic Spine Sign

Abstract: We found the extension of the thoracic spine sign to be an excellent diagnostic tool for clinically relevant pleural effusion.

Cited by 25 publications

References 22 publications

Lung point-of-care ultrasound in the assessment of pleural effusions

Lung point-of-care ultrasound in the assessment of pleural effusions

Lung Ultrasonographic Signs in Pulmonary Disease – A Video Review

Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasonography

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