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Review
. 2020 Nov;36(11):544-548.
doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002254.

Lung Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Pediatric COVID-19: A Case Series

Thomas M Kennedy  1 , Laurie Malia, Almaz Dessie, David O Kessler, Lorraine Ng, Elaine L Chiang, Joni E Rabiner
Affiliations
Review

Lung Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Pediatric COVID-19: A Case Series

Thomas M Kennedy et al. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Lung point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been shown to be useful for identifying pulmonary pathology in adult patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, pediatric literature for POCUS in COVID-19 is limited. The objective of this case series was to describe lung POCUS findings in pediatric patients with COVID-19. Three patients with COVID-19 who had lung POCUS performed in a pediatric emergency department were included. Point-of-care ultrasound revealed bilateral abnormalities in all patients, including pleural line irregularities, scattered and coalescing B-lines, consolidations, and pleural effusions. Additional pediatric studies are necessary to gain a broader understanding of COVID-19's sonographic appearance in this age group and to determine whether POCUS may be helpful to facilitate diagnosis and expedite management decisions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Lung POCUS and chest radiograph of a 9-year-old girl with respiratory distress. A, Transverse image of a right posterior lung field showing a consolidation with air bronchograms and variable degrees of pleural line attenuation. B, Longitudinal image of a left posterior lung field showing a trace pleural effusion. C, Portable chest radiograph showing left upper and right lower lobe atelectasis, partial left lower and right middle lobe atelectasis, and no pleural effusion, but a superimposed pneumonia could not be excluded.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Lung POCUS and chest radiograph of a 12-year-old boy with fever and cough. A, Transverse image of a left posterior lung field showing a consolidation with air bronchograms and variable degrees of pleural line attenuation. B, Transverse image of a right posterior lung field showing pleural line irregularities including a small subpleural consolidation and pleural line fragmentation. C, Longitudinal image of a right anterior lung field showing a B-line and a trace pleural effusion. D, Portable chest radiograph showing a retrocardiac opacity and no pleural effusion.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Lung POCUS and chest radiograph of a 19-year-old man with fever and shortness of breath. A, Transverse image of a right anterior lung field showing multiple coalescing B-lines, a small subpleural consolidation, and a trace pleural effusion. B, Longitudinal image of a left lateral lung field showing a trace pleural effusion. C, Portable chest radiograph showing bilateral ill-defined hazy opacities and no pleural effusion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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