Ultrasound is a safe bedside imaging tool that obviates the use of ionizing radiation diagnostic procedures. Due to its convenience, the lung ultrasound has received increasing attention from neonatal physicians. Nevertheless, clear reference standards and guideline limits are needed for accurate application of this diagnostic modality. This document aims to summarize expert opinions and to provide precise guidance to help facilitate the use of the lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of neonatal lung diseases.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POC-US) is increasingly used especially in emergency and critical-care medicine. It is focused, quick and does not expose patients to ionizing radiation. It encompasses all organ systems and has well-defined indications. Lung ultrasound (LUS) represents one of the most exciting applications in the field of POC-US. It is particularly important to emphasize the role of LUS in neonatology due to the specific pathology inherent in lung immaturity as well as in the particular sensitivity of neonates to repeated radiation exposure. One of the main barriers to the more extensive use of the ultrasound technology is a lack of efficient and attractive training solutions followed by the structured quality-check assurance. In an effort to help bridge this gap, based on the most current literature, we developed creative and intuitive neonatal LUS algorithms. We hope they can serve as a clinical imaging guidelines and a valuable complement to the history and physical exam.

Background The majority of extremely low gestational age neonates undergo intubation for surfactant therapy. Less invasive surfactant administration (LISA) uses a thin catheter inserted into the trachea to deliver the surfactant. During the procedure, the infant is breathing spontaneously while supported with continuous positive airway pressure. Although LISA is widely adapted in Europe and Australia, the rate of LISA use in the United States is unknown. Study design The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of LISA in the US. A web-based survey was distributed via SurveyMonkey to 2550 neonatologists from AAP's SoNPM mailing list. Results Of the 472 neonatologists who answered the survey, 15% used LISA either as a part of routine care (8%) or as part of research (7%). Conclusion Unlike several regions of Europe, LISA is not widely used in the US. Future studies should address ambiguities regarding infant selection, procedure training and "roadblocks" to its broader application.

Lung ultrasound (LUS) is now widely used in the diagnosis and monitor of neonatal lung diseases.Nevertheless, in the published literatures,the LUS images may display a significant variation in technical execution,while scanning parameters may influence diagnostic accuracy.The inter-and intra-observer reliabilities of ultrasound exam have been extensively studied in general and in LUS.As expected,the reliability declines in the hands of novices when they perform the point-of-care ultrasound (POC US).Consequently,having appropriate guidelines regarding to technical aspects of neonatal LUS exam is very important especially because diagnosis is mainly based on interpretation of artifacts produced by the pleural line and the lungs.The present work aimed to create an instrument operation specification and parameter setting guidelines for neonatal LUS.Technical aspects and scanning parameter settings that allow for standardization in obtaining LUS images include (1)select a high-end equipment with high-frequency linear array transducer (12-14 MHz).(2)Choose preset suitable for lung examination or small organs.(3)Keep the probe perpendicular to the ribs or parallel to the intercostal space.(4)Set the scanning depth at 4-5 cm.(5)Set 1-2 focal zones and adjust them close to the pleural line.(6)Use fundamental ARTICLE HISTORY

Use of a visual aid improved mothers' knowledge and showed promise as a decision aid for counseling at the threshold of viability.