Diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound in identifying connective tissue disease related interstitial lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors' conclusion
Although LUS has shown good performance in diagnosing CTD-ILD, this approach does not yet justify routine application due to heterogeneity and publication bias.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with CTD, with (n 1,117) and without (n 1,079) ILD
- Participants
- 2,196 patients28 studies
- Outcome
- Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio and AUC of LUS for CTD-ILD
Methodological detailsQUADAS-2 quality assessment, sensitivity analyses, subgroup analyses and meta-regression, All studies of moderate to high quality
- QUADAS-2 quality assessment
- Sensitivity analyses, subgroup analyses and meta-regression
- All studies of moderate to high quality
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Diagnosis of CTD-ILD
| Group | Sensitivity | Specificity | AUC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lung ultrasound (LUS) | 0.92 | 0.88 | 0.96 |
Lung ultrasound (LUS)
Sensitivity0.92
Specificity0.88
AUC0.96
Further pooled results
| Outcome | Values |
|---|---|
| Diagnosis of RA-ILD (subgroup) | LUS sensitivity 0.91 · specificity 0.90 · AUC 0.96 |
| Diagnosis of SSc-ILD (subgroup) | LUS sensitivity 0.96 · specificity 0.78 · AUC 0.94 |
Original publication
Diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound in identifying connective tissue disease related interstitial lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Exp Rheumatol. Published 14 January 2026. doi:10.
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