09 September 2024 : Clinical Research
Efficacy of Lung Ultrasound vs Chest X-Ray in Detecting Lung Consolidation and Edema in Premature Infants in the NICU
Lin Niu1BCE, Zhi-qun Zhang2CD, Jing Li2DF, Min Zhao1AB*DOI: 10.12659/MSM.944426
Med Sci Monit 2024; 30:e944426
Figure 2(A, B). Patient A. A female preterm infant was admitted 13 minutes after resuscitation for asphyxia at a gestational age of 26 weeks 1 day. The birth weight was 830 g. She was delivered vaginally because the mother had cervical incompetence, premature rupture of membranes, and intrauterine infection. The clinical diagnosis was congenital pneumonia with ureaplasma urealyticum infection. LUS and CXR examinations were performed simultaneously on the fourth day after birth. During the examination, with assisted ventilation in SIMV+VG mode via endotracheal intubation, the percutaneous oxygen saturation was maintained at 90–95%. (A) LUS images taken in horizontal orientations show consolidation measuring 2.5×1.5 cm accompanied by air bronchograms. The consolidation was located in the right lower lung near the edge of the diaphragm. (B) The CXR on the same day showed a small amount of exudate in the right lower lung, but did not show obvious signs of consolidation. After 24 days of treatment, the infant’s condition significantly improved. The infant underwent both LUS and CXR examinations on the same day. The infant received heated humidified high-flow nasal cannula (HHHFNC) oxygen therapy, and percutaneous oxygen saturation was maintained at 95%, accompanied by mild respiratory distress.






