Background: Pneumonia is one of the most common chief complaints for which children seek medical care. Lung ultrasound (LUS) may be a comparable way in detecting extent of lung consolidation in comparison to the current gold standard chest X-rays.
Aim of work: To study lung ultrasound findings and test its sensitivity and specificity in comparison to clinical and conventional x-ray for diagnosis of childhood pneumonia. Using the lung ultrasound as safe as valuable and convenient tool in management and follow up of pneumonia.
Patient and methods: It is comparative study, performed on 100 children (65 males and 35 females), and admitted during the period from August 2018 to August 2019 in the general pediatric wards and PICUs of our tertiary hospital.
Results: The patient's mean age was 5.05 ± 2.50 years, males were 65% of studied patients and 35% of studied patients were females and concerning residence, 80% of patients were from urban areas and 20% were from rural areas. For every child incorporated in the study, a chest x-ray and a LUS were performed. The detection rate of consolidative patches, air bronchogram, pleural effusion and lung abscesses was higher in ultrasound compared to the x-ray technique. Also, LUS was more accurate in detection of extension of pneumonia.
Conclusion: Lung ultrasound is useful for detection of extension of pneumonia, and it is more sensitive than chest X-ray and allows a radiation free technique for detection of consolidations in children, thus reducing radiation exposure in this population.