Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Artif Intell Med Imaging. Feb 28, 2022; 3(1): 8-20
Published online Feb 28, 2022. doi: 10.35711/aimi.v3.i1.8
Chest ultrasound in neonates: What neonatologists should know
Adel Salah Bediwy, Mohammed Al-Biltagi, Jameel Ahmed Nazeer, Nermin Kamal Saeed
Adel Salah Bediwy, Department of Chest Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta 31511, Algharbia, Egypt
Adel Salah Bediwy, Department of Pulmonology, University Medical Center, Arabian Gulf University, Manama 26671, Manama, Bahrain
Mohammed Al-Biltagi, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta 31511, Algharbia, Egypt
Mohammed Al-Biltagi, Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Center, Arabian Gulf University, Manama 26671, Manama, Bahrain
Jameel Ahmed Nazeer, Department of Radiology, University Medical center, King Abdulla Medical City, Arabian Gulf University, Manama 26671, Manama, Bahrain
Nermin Kamal Saeed, Medical Microbiology Section, Pathology Department, Salmaniya Medical Complex , Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Bahrain , Manama 12, Manama, Bahrain
Nermin Kamal Saeed, Microbiology Section, Pathology Department, Irish Royal College of Surgeon, Bahrain, Busaiteen 15503, Muharraq, Bahrain
Author contributions: Bediwy AS, Al-Biltagi M, Nazeer JA, and Saeed NK collected the data and wrote and revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohammed Al-Biltagi, MBChB, MD, MSc, PhD, Chairman, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Al Bahr street, Tanta 31511, Algharbia, Egypt. mbelrem@hotmail.com
Received: January 6, 2022
Peer-review started: January 6, 2022
First decision: February 10, 2022
Revised: February 12, 2022
Accepted: February 21, 2022
Article in press: February 21, 2022
Published online: February 28, 2022
Processing time: 52 Days and 9.2 Hours
Abstract

For many years, ultrasound was thought to have no indications in pulmonary imaging because lungs are filled with air, creating no acoustic mismatch, as encountered by ultrasound wave beam. Lung ultrasound (LUS) was started in adult critical care settings to detect pleural effusion and acquired more indications over time. In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the use of chest ultrasound has gained more attention during the last two decades. Being a radiation-free, bedside, rapid, and handy tool, LUS started to replace chest X-rays in NICU. Using LUS depends upon understanding the nature of normal lungs and the changes induced by different diseases. With the help of LUS, an experienced neonatologist can detect many of the respiratory problems so fast that interventional therapy can be introduced as early as possible. LUS can diagnose pleural effusion, pneumothorax, pneumonia, transient tachypnoea of the newborn, respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary atelectasis, meconium aspiration syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and some other disorders with very high accuracy. LUS will be helpful in initial diagnosis, follow-up, and predicting the need for further procedures such as mechanical ventilation, diuretic therapy, surfactant therapy, etc. There are some limitations to using LUS in some respiratory disorders such as bullae, interstitial emphysema, and other conditions. This review will highlight the importance of LUS, its uses, and limitations.

Keywords: Lung ultrasound; Neonatal respiratory Disorders; Neonatal chest ultrasound; Meconium; Pneumonia; Pneumothorax

Core Tip: Lung ultrasound is a valuable imaging procedure in neonatal respiratory care. It helps diagnose many respiratory disorders with excellent accuracy and safety. Some limitations are experienced for its use, but its benefits are more.