Lung Ultrasound in Children with Acute Respiratory Failure: Comparison between Chest X-ray, Chest Computed Tomography, and Lung Ultrasound: A Case Series

Respiratory failure is one of the most common and critical problems in pediatric wards. Assessments by chest X-rays (CXRs) are common and prevalent for determining the cause of respiratory failure in children. However, CXRs can be misinterpretated. Some patients may require further evaluation with other tools, such as chest computed tomography (CCT). Lung ultrasound (LUS) has proven useful for detecting lung abnormalities with respiratory failure in adults, but its usefulness in children is still not clear. We present a series of eight children who were admitted in a tertiary children's hospital. Each child underwent CXR, CCT, and LUS. In seven of eight cases, both LUS and CCT were able to detect abnormal findings. However, the radiological findings in CXRs were not sufficient. These cases included children with pleural effusion that was comorbid with consolidation, or cases with substantial consolidation that required thoracentesis or proper physical therapy. KEY MESSAGES: LUS can be beneficial for evaluating children with respiratory failure that are admitted in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and may contribute towards appropriate therapy for children. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Fukuhara S, Yamaguchi Y et al. Lung Ultrasound in Children with Acute Respiratory Failure: Comparison between Chest X-ray, Chest Computed Tomography, and Lung Ultrasound: A Case Series. Indian J of Crit Care Med 2019;23(2):95-98.