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Lung ultrasound accurately detects pneumothorax in a preterm newborn lamb model
Author(s) -
Blank Douglas A,
Hooper Stuart B,
BinderHeschl Corinna,
Kluckow Martin,
Gill Andrew W,
LaRosa Domenic A,
Inocencio Ishmael M,
Moxham Alison,
Rodgers Karyn,
Zahra Valerie A,
Davis Peter G,
Polglase Graeme R
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.13154
Subject(s) - medicine , pneumothorax , ultrasound , lung , gestational age , lung ultrasound , prospective cohort study , radiology , surgery , pregnancy , biology , genetics
Aim Pneumothorax is a common emergency affecting extremely preterm. In adult studies, lung ultrasound has performed better than chest x‐ray in the diagnosis of pneumothorax. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of lung ultrasound (LUS) examination to detect pneumothorax using a preterm animal model. Methods This was a prospective, observational study using newborn Border–Leicester lambs at gestational age = 126 days (equivalent to gestational age = 26 weeks in humans) receiving mechanical ventilation from birth to 2 h of life. At the conclusion of the experiment, LUS was performed, the lambs were then euthanised and a post‐mortem exam was immediately performed. We used previously published ultrasound techniques to identify pneumothorax. Test characteristics of LUS to detect pneumothorax were calculated, using the post‐mortem exam as the ‘gold standard’ test. Results Nine lambs (18 lungs) were examined. Four lambs had a unilateral pneumothorax, all of which were identified by LUS with no false positives. Conclusions This was the first study to use post‐mortem findings to test the efficacy of LUS to detect pneumothorax in a newborn animal model. Lung ultrasound accurately detected pneumothorax, verified by post‐mortem exam, in premature, newborn lambs.