This study aims to
Primary Aims:
Verify the predictability of the PLIS at admission in predicting major clinical outcomes including:
* ICU mortality (or discharge) and time to death (or discharge) * Escalation of ventilatory support antibiotic therapy or supportive medications (inotropes, steroids, sedation, neuromuscular blockers).
Secondary Aims:
* Determine the correlation between initial PLIS and the degree of disease severity (as evaluated per SOFA and APACHE II scores) * Determine the correlation between initial PLIS and partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) to Fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2): PaO2/FiO2 * Explore the potential association between the type of ventilatory support, ventilatory settings and PLIS at different time points. * Verify whether the site of consolidation (anterior vs. posterior lung zones) can reliably predict mortality in in ALI patients. * Determine the correlation between the PLIS score and the degree of ALI as quantified by CT of the chest (whenever a CT study is available) at the time of admission.
Age is or more than 18 years old.
Admission to ICU in the first24 hours at time of recruitment to the study.
Patients in respiratory failure [PaO2 is less then 60 % mmHg]
Co- existing chronic lung disease, pathology of which is known display abnormalities on US examination (interstitial lung diseases, bronchiectasis).
Large pneumothorax or massive pleural effusion causing significant collapse and precluding proper visualization of underlying lung.
Conditions that may interfere with lung ultrasound quality or probe contact such as marked obesity, severe chest wall deformities, burns or wounds.