Novel approaches to ultrasonography of the lung and pleural space: where are we now?

This review article is an update of what should be known for practicing basic lung ultrasound in the critically ill (LUCI) and is also of interest for less critical disciplines (e.g. pulmonology). It pinpoints on the necessity of a professional machine (not necessarily a sophisticated one) and probe. It lists the 10 main signs of LUCI and some of the main protocols made possible using LUCI: the BLUE protocol for a respiratory failure, the FALLS protocol for a circulatory failure, the SESAME protocol for a cardiac arrest and the investigation of a ventilated acute respiratory distress syndrome patient, etc. It shows how the field has been fully standardised to avoid confusion.