• Luna Gargani, Marica Doveri, Luigia D'Errico, Francesca Frassi, Maria L Bazzichi, Andrea Delle Sedie, Maria C Scali, Simonetta Monti, Sergio Mondillo, Stefano Bombardieri, Davide Caramella, and Eugenio Picano.
• Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy. gargani@ifc.cnr.it
• Rheumatology (Oxford). 2009 Nov 1; 48 (11): 1382-7.

ObjectiveTo assess the correlation between ultrasound lung comets (ULCs, a recently described echographic sign of interstitial lung fibrosis) and the current undisputed gold-standard high-resolution CT (HRCT) to detect pulmonary fibrosis in patients with SSc.MethodsWe enrolled 33 consecutive SSc patients (mean age 54 +/- 13 years, 30 females) in the Rheumatology Clinic of the University of Pisa. We assessed ULCs and chest HRCT within 1 week independently in all the patients. ULC score was obtained by summing the number of lung comets on the anterior and posterior chest. Pulmonary fibrosis was quantified by HRCT with a previously described 30-point Warrick score.ResultsPresence of ULCs (defined as a total number more than 10) was observed in 17 (51%) SSc patients. Mean ULC score was 37 +/- 50, higher in the diffuse than in the limited form (73 +/- 66 vs 21 +/- 35; P < 0.05). A significant positive linear correlation was found between ULCs and Warrick scores (r = 0.72; P < 0.001).ConclusionsULCs are often found in SSc, are more frequent in the diffuse than the limited form and are reasonably well correlated with HRCT-derived assessment of lung fibrosis. They represent a simple, bedside, radiation-free hallmark of pulmonary fibrosis of potential diagnostic and prognostic value.

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