Lung ultrasonography and pediatric cardiac surgery: first experience with a new tool for postoperative lung complications.
Lung ultrasonography is a diagnostic tool increasingly used in critical care. Few data are available for the pediatric population. We describe our experience with lung ultrasonography for 5 pediatric patients with common post-cardiac surgery lung complications (pleural effusion, pneumothorax, atelectasis, pneumonia). Ultrasonography was useful also for lung recruitment. Such data were confirmed by chest radiographs or by computed tomography, or both. Lung ultrasonography can be considered as a useful, real-time, bedside tool to detect specific lung diseases, reliably implementing radiographic images and potentially decreasing the total number of radiographs in critically ill children with congenital heart diseases.
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Bambino Gesu' Hospital, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: vincenzo.vitale@opbg.net.
Vincenzo
V
Vitale
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Bambino Gesu' Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Zaccaria
Z
Ricci
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Bambino Gesu' Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Paola
P
Cogo
D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography