Lung ultrasound and neonatal respiratory distress

Abstract

Neonatal respiratory distress (NRD) is the most common cause of admission in neonatal intensive care units with high morbidity and mortality. Such an emergency justifies the need of a diagnostic tool that is accessible, fast and reproducible. Usually used for the diagnosis of pleural effusion, lung ultrasound is also a powerful tool for the rapid diagnosis of other respiratory pathologies in children and adults. In neonates, an international protocol for point-of-care lung ultrasound has established specific ultrasound features for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), neonatal transient tachypnea (NTT), meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) and pneumonia. This technique is now considered an interesting tool for diagnosis and therapeutic decision making at birth. Even if, at present, lung ultrasound cannot completely replace chest radiography, its increasingly frequent use allows a significant reduction in the irradiation of newborns in intensive care units.