The measurement of lung water

Introduction:
In this review, we compare the spectrum of currently available methods for quantifying pulmonary edema in patients.

      Review:
      Imaging and indicator dilution techniques comprise the most common                strategies for measuring lung water at the bedside. The most accurate (within               10% of the gravimetric gold standard) and most reproducible (< 5%               between-test variation) are also, unfortunately, the most expensive and most                difficult to implement for purposes of large-scale clinical trials or for               routine clinical practice.


      Conclusion:
      The standard chest radiograph remains the best screening test for             the detection of pulmonary edema. Indicator-dilution techniques are probably                the best available method at present for quantitation in patient groups.