The new application of point-of-care lung ultrasound in guiding or assisting neonatal severe lung disease treatment based on a case series.

Objective: Lung ultrasound (LUS) has been successfully used for neonatal lung disease diagnosis, as a non-invasive, free of radiation tool, the application of point-of-care LUS (POC-LUS) to diagnose lung disease has become a new trend worldwide. This paper was to introduce the new application of LUS to guide or assist the neonatal lung diseases treatment.Methods: Based on case series of our daily routine clinical work, in combining with the latest literatures, we introducing the new using field of POC-LUS in guiding the treatment of uninflated lung disease by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), guiding the treatment of severe pleural effusion and pneumothorax, guide the use of and weaning from mechanical ventilation, and in assessing the efficacy of exogenous pulmonary surfactant (PS) therapy.Results: The results of this study showed that the using rate of invasive ventilation and PS were decreased significantly, the duration of invasive ventilation was shortened significantly, the recovery of pleural effusion and pneumothorax were more quickly and safety, and finally a significantly shortened length of hospitalizations was obtained.Conclusions: LUS monitoring had significant effects in guiding the management of neonatal severe lung diseases, which with the worthy of extensive clinical application.

Lung ultrasonography to diagnose pneumothorax of the newborn.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the reliability and accuracy of lung ultrasound for diagnosing neonatal pneumothorax. METHODS: This study was divided into two phases. (1) In the first phase, from January 2013 to June 2015, 40 patients with confirmed pneumothorax had lung ultrasound examinations performed to identify the sonographic characteristics of neonatal pneumothorax. (2) In the second phase, from July 2015 to August 2016, lung ultrasound was undertaken on 50 newborn infants with severe lung disease who were suspected of having pneumothorax, to evaluate the sonographic accuracy and reliability to diagnose pneumothorax. RESULTS: (1) The main ultrasonic manifestations of pneumothorax are as follows: ① lung sliding disappearance, which was observed in all patients (100%); ② the existence of the pleural line and the A-line, which was also observed in all patients (100%); ③ the lung point, which was found in 75% of the infants with mild-moderate pneumothorax but not found to exist in 25% of the severe pneumothorax patients; ④ the absence of B-lines in the area of the pneumothorax (100% of the pneumothorax patients); and ⑤ no lung consolidation existed in the area of the pneumothorax (100% of the pneumothorax patients). (2) The accuracy and reliability of the lung sonographic signs of lung sliding disappearance as well as the existence of the pleural line and the A-line in diagnosing pneumothorax were as follows: 100% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value, and 100% negative predictive value. When the lung point exists, the diagnosis is mild-moderate pneumothorax, whereas if no lung point exists, the diagnosis is severe pneumothorax. CONCLUSION: Lung ultrasound is accurate and reliable in diagnosing and ruling out neonatal pneumothorax and, in our study, was found to be as accurate as chest X-ray.

Lung ultrasonography to diagnose pulmonary hemorrhage of the newborn.

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to investigate the application of lung ultrasound for the diagnosis of pulmonary hemorrhage of the newborn (PHN). METHODS: From July 2013 to June 2016, 157 neonates were enrolled in the study. They were divided into two groups: a study group of 57 neonates, who were diagnosed with PHN according to their medical history, clinical manifestations and chest X-ray findings, and a control group of 100 neonates with no lung disease. All subjects underwent bedside lung ultrasound in a quiet state in a supine, lateral or prone position, performed by a single expert physician. The ultrasound findings were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The lung ultrasound main findings associated with PHN included lung consolidation with air bronchograms with an incidence of 82.5%, a shred sign with an incidence of 91.2%, pleural effusion with an incidence of 84.2% (pleurocentesis confirmed the fluid was really bleeding), atelectasis with a incidence of 33.3%, pleural line abnormalities, as well as disappearing A-lines with an incidence of 100%, and 11.9% of these patients had the main manifestations of alveolar-interstitial syndrome (AIS). The shred sign exhibited a sensitivity of 91.2% and a specificity of 100% in diagnosing PHN. CONCLUSIONS: Lung ultrasonography is useful and reliable for diagnosing PHN, which is suitable for routine application in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Bronchoalveolar lavage for the treatment of neonatal pulmonary atelectasis under lung ultrasound monitoring.

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary atelectasis (PA) is a common clinical complication among newborns, and it is one of the most common causes of neonatal dyspnea, a condition with no specific effective treatment. This study examined the effectiveness and security of bronchoalveolar lavage (BL) regarding the treatment of neonatal PA under ultrasound monitoring. METHODS: A total of 57 patients diagnosed with PA via lung ultrasound (LUS) were included in this study. All patients received BL via a tracheal intubation injection of lavage fluid. The LUS was conducted immediately after each lavage to understand the conditions of lung re-expansion. Irrigation was repeated two to three times as one course of treatment. BL was provided as one to two courses of treatment daily for several days according to atelectasis and lung recruitment status. RESULTS: Of the 57 patients, BL was very effective in 44 cases (77.2%), marginally effective in nine cases (15.8%) and ineffective in four cases (7.0%), showing a total effective rate of 93.0%. The four ineffective cases showed a long disease duration and severe pulmonary consolidation. CONCLUSIONS: BL showed significant effectiveness for the treatment of neonatal PA under ultrasound monitoring. This treatment is easy to operate, and no adverse side effects were observed. Thus, BL should be considered for clinical application.