Pediatric lung ultrasonography: current perspectives

Abstract

Ultrasonography (US) is the workhorse of pediatric imaging; however, lung US is only a recently developed application. US of the lung is based predominantly on the imaging of chest wall-air-fluid interfaces. In this review, we summarize the available literature on applications of lung US in neonatal as well as pediatric care. We describe the imaging appearance of various commonly encountered pathologies including pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome, among others, and provide illustrative images. Finally, we describe the limitations of the technique that are essential knowledge for radiologists, critical care physicians, sonographers and technologists attempting to use lung US effectively for diagnosis and management.

Keywords: Chest wall; Children; Infants; Lung; Neonates; Respiratory distress syndrome; Technique; Ultrasound.