Objective To test the hypothesis that a lung ultrasound severity score (LUSsc) can predict the development of chronic lung disease (CLD) in preterm neonates.
Study Design Preterm infants <30 weeks' gestational age were enrolled in this study. Lung ultrasound (LUS) was performed between 1 and 9 postnatal weeks. All ultrasound studies were done assessing three lung zones on each lung. Each zone was given a score between 0 and 3. A receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to assess the ability of LUSsc to predict CLD.
Results We studied 27 infants at a median (interquartile range [IQR]) gestational age and birth weight of 26 weeks (25–29) and 780 g (530–1,045), respectively. Median (IQR) postnatal age at the time of LUS studies was 5 (2–8) weeks. Fourteen infants who developed CLD underwent 34 studies. Thirteen infants without CLD underwent 30 studies. Those who developed CLD had a higher LUSsc than those who did not (median [IQR] of scores: 9 [6–12] vs. 3 [1–4], p < 0.0001). An LUSsc cutoff of 6 has a sensitivity and specificity of 76 and 97% and positive and negative predictive values of 95 and 82%, respectively. Adding gestational age < 27 weeks improved sensitivity and specificity to 86 and 98% and positive and negative predictive values to 97 and 88%.
Conclusion LUSsc between 2 and 8 weeks can predict development of CLD in preterm neonates.
Rationale: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is used to evaluate pulmonary edema in adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Its use has not been validated in neonatal models. Objectives: We compared an in vivo lung ultrasound score against clinical and histological markers of acute lung injury, in a neonatal animal model, hypothesizing that POCUS would sensitively diagnose early acute lung injury in neonates and discern its severity. Methods: Fifteen anesthetized, ventilated 3-day-old neonatal piglets were divided into controls, moderate lung injury, or severe lung injury by graded treatment with oleic acid. Degree of lung injury was quantified at baseline, immediately after oleic acid administration, and 1 hour after the evolution of acute lung injury, by blood gases, ventilation parameters and calculated oxygenation deficit; hemodynamic indices by echocardiography, and lung ultrasound obtained in an 8-region grid of anterior and posterior zones, semi-quantitatively analyzed by a blinded observer. Lungs were inflation-fixed postmortem at last mean airway pressure, for histological assessment. Results: Acute lung injury manifested in oleic acid-treated groups as dosedependent capillary leak causing intravascular depletion and cardiac failure, hypoxemia with increasing intrapulmonary shunt fraction, decreased lung compliance, and resistance. Ultrasound scores of anterior regions distinguished moderate from severe injury; scores in posterior regions reached maximum values immediately after lung injury. POCUS score correlated with calculated intrapulmonary shunt fraction (R 2 = .65) and with histological injury score (R 2 = .61), P < .01. Conclusion: We conclude that POCUS may be valuable in neonates for early quantification of acute lung injury or ARDS; and that nondependent ultrasound regions clearly distinguish severity of pulmonary edema.
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