Open Access<p>Lung Ultrasound in Children with Respiratory Tract Infections: Viral, Bacterial or COVID-19? A Narrative Review</p>
Author(s) -
Sigmund Kharasch,
Nicole Duggan,
Alma Cohen,
Hamid Shokoohi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
open access emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.408
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 1179-1500
DOI - 10.2147/oaem.s238702
Subject(s) - covid-19 , medicine , respiratory tract , lung , respiratory tract infections , lung ultrasound , respiratory system , immunology , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , outbreak
Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are common complaints among patients presenting to the pediatric emergency department. In the diagnostic assessment of children with RTIs, many patients ultimately undergo imaging studies for further evaluation. Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) can be used safely and with a high degree of accuracy in differentiating etiologies of RTIs in pediatric patients. Ultrasonographical features such as an irregular pleural line, subpleural consolidations, focal and lobar consolidation and signs of interstitial involvement can be used to distinguish between several pathologies. This work offers a comprehensive overview of pediatric LUS in cases of the most common pediatric RTIs including bacterial and viral pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and COVID-19.