A novel rat model of pulmonary artery embolism and the application value of lung ultrasound B-lines in early-stage pulmonary embolism

Abstract

Background

Thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) is increasingly valued in the diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism (PE). Currently, clinical research using lung ultrasound relies solely on imaging methods and lacks histological evidence.

Methods

A new rat pulmonary artery embolism model was prepared by injecting stable emboli through a visualized injection path. The effectiveness of the model was evaluated by assessing pulmonary artery hemodynamics, and the relationship between lung ultrasound and infarcted tissue was studied.

Results

The new rat pulmonary emboli are stable, and ultrasound can display the distribution of the emboli in the pulmonary artery. Pulmonary artery hemodynamics can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the model. The ultrasound manifestations of small patchy hemorrhagic infarcts on the surface of lung tissue after PE are B-lines. Some small patchy hemorrhagic infarct lesions may progress to large infarct lesions, which are manifested as consolidation on ultrasound. The sensitivity of ultrasound B-lines for detecting infarct lesions is 60.3%, and the specificity is 86.8%. The consistency boundary between the long diameter of pulmonary ultrasound B-lines and the long diameter of pulmonary tissue infarction ranges from −0.75 to 2.05.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that ultrasound B-lines have application value in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, and also provides a new animal model for research on pulmonary hypertension and the development of drugs for pulmonary embolism.