Disturbing symptoms that should be checked in ultrasound of the lungs include: chronic cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, breathing problems, traumatic conditions of the chest and hemoptysis. Ultrasound is an easily accessible and safe examination that does not expose the patient to X-rays. Ultrasound examination can be performed in young children and in pregnant women.

Ultrasound enables the assessment of the pleura and peripheral parts of the lungs. In the range available in the examination, the doctor can detect: pleurisy and pneumonia, interstitial lung diseases, pulmonary edema, pneumothorax, presence of pleural adhesions, pleural empyema, lung abscess. In order to extend the diagnostics with changes located in the deeper regions of the lungs, it is recommended to take an X-ray of the lungs or computed tomography.

The patient is asked to lie down and expose the chest. The doctor covers the surface of the patient's skin with a special gel and then applies the ultrasound head. The image of the pleura and lungs in the range available in the examination is displayed on the monitor screen. The ultrasound is painless and takes about 15-20 minutes.