Lung ultrasound as early diagnostic tool in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the value of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in newborn infants Methods: From October 2017 to October 2018, 54 newborn infants were divided into two groups: RDS group (27 cases) and control group (27 cases) According to the findings of chest x-ray, there were 18 cases of grade II RDS,7 grade III cases, and 2 grade IV cases in RDS group. Lung ultrasound was performed at bedside by a single expert. The ultrasound indexes observed in this study included pleural line, A-line, B-line, lung consolidation, air bronchograms, bilateral white lung, interstitial syndrome, lung sliding, lung pulse etc. Findings: In all of the infants with RDS, lung ultrasound consistently showed compact B lines, bilateral white lung or interstitial syndrome, pleural line abnormalities, A-line disappearance, The simultaneous demonstration of lung consolidation, pleural line abnormalities and bilateral white lung, or lung consolidation, pleural line abnormalities and A-line disappearance co-exists with a sensitivity 100 % and specificity 90 % for the diagnosis of neonatal RDS for studied sample size *Total sample size being 40 cases & 40 control Conclusion: This study indicates that using an ultrasound to diagnose neonatal RDS can be reliable tool. A lung ultrasound has many advantages over other techniques. Ultrasound is non-ionizing, lowcost, easy to operate, and can be performed at bedside, making this technique ideal for use in NICU *Complete Statistical analysis to follow once the sample size is completed