Ultrasound in the Assessment of Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis: A Systematic Literature Review by the OMERACT Ultrasound Group

Objective. To provide an overview of the role of lung ultrasound (LUS) in the assessment of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to discuss the state of validation supporting its clinical relevance and application in daily clinical practice. Methods. Original articles published between January 1997 and October 2017 were included. To identify all available studies, a detailed search pertaining to the topic of review was conducted according to guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A systematic search was performed in PubMed and EMBASE. The quality assessment of retrieved articles was performed according to the Oxford Center for Evidence-based Medicine. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. Results. From 300 papers identified, 12 were included for the analysis. LUS passed the filter of face, content validity, and feasibility. However, there is insufficient evidence to support criterion validity, reliability, and sensitivity to change. Conclusion. Despite a great deal of work supporting the potential role of LUS for the assessment of ILD-SSc, much remains to be done before validating its use as an outcome measure in ILD-SSc.