Pulmonary transit of echocontrast agents during mechanical ventilation. a clinical transthoracic echocardiographic study

In this study, we investigated whether the ultrasound contrast agents Levovist® or Sono Vue® injected intravenously during mechanical ventilation effectively pass through the pulmonary circulation. With echocardiography, we measured the time for the contrast to pass through the lungs; and the intensity of right and left ventricular cavity opacification at four time points: during spontaneous breathing (baseline), 5 minutes after the beginning of mechanical ventilation, and 5 minutes and 30 min- utes after extubation