Value of lung ultrasound in diagnosing infectious pneumonia of newborns / 中华围产医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the value of lung ultrasound in diagnosing infectious pneumonia (IPN) of newborns. Methods Seventy-two infants hospitalized from September 1, 2012 to May 30, 2013, in Bayi Children's Hospital, General Hospital of Beijing Military Command were divided into two groups. The study group consisted of 32 newborn infants diagnosed as IPN by medical history, clinical manifestations and chest X-ray, while the control group consisted of 40 neonates without any lung diseases. In a quiet state, the infants were placed in supine, side or prone position for lung ultrasound examination. The lung field was divided into three areas by the anterior and posterior axillary line. The regions of the bilateral lung were scanned by the probe which was vertical with the ribs. Fisher's exact was performed for stastical analysis. Results The most important ultrasound imaging findings of IPN included lung consolidation of varying size and shape with irregular and serrated margins (100%, 32/32), dynamic air bronchograms (100%, 32/32), A-line disappearance (100%, 32/32) and interstitial syndrome (100%, 32/32). Other common ultrasound signs included pleural line abnormalities (91%, 29/32), lung pulse (38%, 12/32) and dynamic air bronchograms (66%, 21/32) under real-time ultrasound. Pleural effusion was an infrequent sign that existed in 9%(3/32)of IPN patients. None of these abnormalities was observed in the control group. Conclusion Lung ultrasound is reliable for the diagnosis of IPN and can be routinely performed in neonatal intensive care units, and a large area of lung consolidation with irregular margins A-line disappearance, interstitial syndrome and pleural line abnormalities are the main image findings.