Background: Lung ultrasound (US) in the evaluation of suspected pediatric pneumonia is increasingly used and has a recognized role in evaluating pleural effusions, although there are no detailed studies specifically addressing its use in the pediatric population.
Objectives: To define lung US findings of severe pediatric community-acquired pneumonia that required surgical procedures during admission.
Materials and methods: Our prospective case-control study compared lung US findings in patients ages 1 month to 17 years admitted with community-acquired pneumonia that required surgical procedures from findings those who did not. Lung US was performed at admission and always before surgical procedures. Medical treatment, laboratory and microbiological findings, chest X-ray, computed tomography scan and surgical procedures are described.
Results: One hundred twenty-one children with community-acquired pneumonia were included; of these, 23 underwent surgical intervention. Compared with the control group, children requiring a surgical procedure had a significantly higher rate of large consolidations (52.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 30.6% to 73.2%), larger and complicated pleural effusions (100%; 95% CI: 85.2% to 100%), and both liquid and air bronchograms (73.9%; 95% CI: 51.6% to 89.8%).
Conclusion: Larger consolidations, larger and more complicated pleural effusions, and liquid and air bronchograms were associated with surgical treatment.
Keywords: Adolescents; Case-control study; Children; Community-acquired pneumonia; Complicated pneumonia; Lung; Pneumonia; Ultrasound.