Estimating pulmonary congestion in elderly patients using bio-impedance technique: correlation with clinical examination and X-ray results.

The bio-impedance technique provides a safe, low-cost and non-invasive alternative for lung fluid level monitoring. Here we have investigated the feasibility of a novel bio-impedance system in measuring pulmonary congestion in elderly patients suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF). The system employed a parametric reconstruction algorithm to assess mean lung resistivity. Fourteen patients were studied before and following treatment to reduce lung congestion. Significant correlation was found between the changes of radiographic scores and resistivity values following treatment (R=0.57, p<0.04). A significant difference in resistivity values between patients having low and high congestion degrees was also demonstrated (p<0.01). Moreover, the bio-impedance technique successfully diagnosed an improvement of congestion level in 10 out of 14 patients, while the radiographic score indicated such an improvement in only 5 out of the 14 patients. These results, along with our previous validation studies, suggest that the bio-impedance technique is a feasible bedside system for monitoring of pulmonary congested patients, thus facilitating effective treatment strategies.