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Ultraschall Med 2023; 44(01): 14-35
DOI: 10.1055/a-1885-5664
Continuing Medical Education

Pulmonary Sonography – Neonatal Diagnosis Part 1

Article in several languages: English | deutsch
Simone Schwarz 
  Clinic for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Sana Kliniken Duisburg GmbH, Duisburg, Germany
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Abstract

Diseases of the respiratory system are among the main problems of premature patients in the neonatal intensive care unit. Radiography of the thorax is the gold standard of imaging. This results in high cumulative radiation exposure with potential negative long-term consequences. Ultrasound examination of thoracic structures represents a promising radiation-free and ubiquitously available alternative.

A healthy, ventilated lung can only be imaged via artifacts, since total reflection of the sound waves occurs due to the high impedance difference between tissue and air-filled lung. Pathologies of pleura and subpleural lung tissue lead to changes in the acoustic properties of the tissue and thus to variations in the artifacts that can be imaged. The main sonographic characteristics of pulmonary pathology are: pleural line abnormalities, increased B-lines and comet-tail artifacts, lung consolidations, a visible pulmonary pulse, pleural sliding abnormalities, and visualization of effusions. Deviations from normal sonographic findings can be assigned to specific underlying pathophysiologies, so that conclusions about the disease can be drawn in conjunction with the clinical symptoms.



Publication History

Article published online:
08 September 2022

© 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

Next part of this series:

Pulmonary Sonography – Neonatal Diagnosis Part 2Ultraschall Med 2023; 44(03): 240-268
DOI: 10.1055/a-1996-0767

 

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