Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) is increasingly applied in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Diagnostic applications for LUS in the NICU contain the diagnosis of many common neonatal pulmonary diseases (such as Respiratory distress syndrome, Transient tachypnea of the newborn, Meconium aspiration syndrome, Pneumonia, Pneumothorax, and Pleural effusion) which have been validated. In addition to being employed as a diagnostic tool in the classical sense of the term, recent studies have shown that the number and type of artifacts are associated with lung aeration. Based on this theory, over the last few years, LUS has also been used as a semi-quantitative method or as a "functional" tool. Scores have been proposed to monitor the progress of neonatal lung diseases and to decide whether or not to perform a specific treatment. The semi-quantitative LUS scores (LUSs) have been developed to predict the demand for surfactant therapy, the need of respiratory support and the progress of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Given their ease of use, accuracy and lack of invasiveness, the use of LUSs is increasing in clinical practice. Therefore, this manuscript will review the application of LUSs in neonatal lung diseases.
To investigate the effect of early diagnosis and thrombolytic followed by anticoagulant therapy in pulmonary embolism (PE).46 patients diagnosed as PE were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were treated with thrombolytic followed by anticoagulant therapy. Therapeutic effect was compared between two groups of patients with symptoms more or less than two weeks before establishment of diagnosis.36 patients were documented as PE by lung scan, 13 of 46 patients (28.3%) were misdiagnosed as other heart or lung diseases. All the patients had accompanying diseases, including leg deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (33/46, 71.7%) heart or lung diseases other than PE(23/46, 50%), and history of surgery (6/46, 3%). 93.1% of the patients with clinical history less than 2 weeks showed improvement, whereas only 52.9% of those with clinical history exceeding 2 weeks improved. There was significant difference between them.In order to diagnose PE early, we should pay more attention to the risk factors of PE, especially DVT. The success of thrombolysis appears to depend on the interval between the onset of symptoms and start of thrombolytic therapy. Patients with clinical symptoms less than 2 weeks show better improvement.
As we all know, pulmonary edema can be diagnosed by lung ultrasound (LUS), but how to accurately and quantitatively evaluate lung water content by ultrasound is a difficult problem that needs to be solved urgently. B-line assessment with LUS has recently been proposed as a reliable, noninvasive semiquantitative tool for evaluating extravascular lung water (EVLW). To date, however, there has been no easy quantitative method to evaluate EVLW by LUS.(1) To explore the feasibility of establishing a rabbit model with increased EVLW by injecting warm normal saline (NS) into the lungs via the endotracheal tube. (2) To establish a simple, accurate and clinically operable method for quantitative assessment of EVLW using LUS. (3) To develop LUS into a resource for guiding the clinical treatment of patients with increased EVLW.Forty-five New Zealand rabbits were randomized into nine groups (n = 5). After anesthesia, each group of rabbits was injected with different amounts of warm sterile NS (0 ml/kg, 2 ml/kg, 4 ml/kg, 6 ml/kg, 8 ml/kg, 10 ml/kg, 15 ml/kg, 20 ml/kg, 30 ml/kg) via the endotracheal tube. Each rabbit was examined by LUS before and after NS injection. At the same time, the spontaneous respiratory rate (RR, breaths per minute), heart rate (HR, bpm) and arterial blood gas (ABG) of the rabbits were recorded. Then, both lungs were dissected to obtain the wet and dry weight and conduct a complete histological examination.Injecting NS into the lungs through a tracheal tube can successfully establish a rabbit model with increased EVLW. The extent of EVLW increase is related to the volume of NS injected into the lungs. As the EVLW increases, three different types of B-lines can be seen in the LUS. When the NS injection volume is 2-6 ml/kg, comet-tail artifacts and B-lines are the main patterns found on LUS; as additional NS is injected into the lungs, the rabbits' RR gradually increases, while their HR gradually decreases, ABG remains normal or shows mild metabolic acidosis (MA). Confluent B-lines grow gradually but significantly, reaching a dominant position when the NS injection volume reaches 6-8 ml/kg and predominating almost entirely when the NS injection volume is 8-15 ml/kg; at that time, rabbits' RRs and HRs decrease sharply, and the ABG indicated type I respiratory failure (RF).Compact B-lines occur and predominate almost entirely when the NS injection volume reaches 10 ml/kg and 15-20 ml/kg, respectively. At that time, rabbits begin to enter cardiac and respiratory arrest, and ABG shows type II RF and MA.In this study, the establishment of an animal model with increased EVLW confirmed that different lung water content had corresponding manifestations in ultrasound and was associated with different degrees of clinical symptoms, and the study results can be used to guide clinical practice.
Totally implantable subcutaneous venous access ports (TISVAPs) are essential for long-term central venous chemotherapy, delivering medication directly into the central veins of patients. While they play a critical role in reducing patient discomfort, TISVAPs pose a notable risk of post-insertion infections—particularly concerning for oncology patients with compromised immune systems due to aggressive treatment regimens. Our research addresses this issue by developing a predictive nomogram to estimate the risk of TISVAP-associated infections. The model is based on independent risk factors identified in our study: a history of diabetes, the type of chemotherapy, peripheral blood leukocyte count (WBC), and serum albumin levels. Using retrospective clinical data from 309 oncology patients who underwent TISVAP implantation at a tertiary A-grade comprehensive hospital, we divided the dataset into training (n = 246) and validation (n = 63) subsets. Through logistic and Lasso regression analyses, we identified the independent risk factors associated with infections. The resulting interactive nomogram demonstrated strong accuracy and reliability, with C-indexes of 0.82 and 0.835 for the training and validation sets, respectively. This tool equips healthcare providers to proactively identify high-risk patients and tailor preventive strategies accordingly. Ultimately, our research aims to enhance patient outcomes and improve the quality of life for those undergoing long-term venous chemotherapy.
Objective
To investigate the efficacy and adverse effects of sustained lung inflation (SLI) combined with pulmonary surfactant (PS) in the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS).
Methods
This prospective randomized controlled trial included 124 premature infants (gestational age <34 weeks and birth weight <2 000 g) diagnosed with NRDS and in need of PS treatment in Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital affiliated to Southern Medical University from July 1, 2016 to October 31, 2018. They were randomly divided into experimental or control group, with 62 cases in each. Infants in the experimental group were treated with SLI using T-piece and intratracheal PS, while those in the control group were given PS only. Blood gas analysis and measurement of fraction of inspiration O2 (FiO2) and ratio of partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) over FiO2 were performed before and 1 h after PS injection. Results of the treatments and incidence of complications were compared. Paired samples t-test, two independent samples t-test, rank-sum test and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.
Results
There were 56 participants in the experimental group and 54 in the control group who were eventually analyzed. In the experimental group, the pH value, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2), FiO2 and PO2/FiO2 at 1 h after PS injection were all improved compared with those before treatment [pH value: 7.26±0.09 vs 7.19±0.09, t=3.814; PCO2: (51.5±12.6) vs (59.8±16.3) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), t=2.610; FiO2: 26.0 (21.0-31.5)% vs 40.5 (38.5-51.5)%, U=392.000; PO2/FiO2: (284.6±117.9) vs (173.4±59.7) mmHg, t=6.427; all P 0.05).
Conclusions
SLI combined with PS for NRDS babies can increase the rate of extubation within 24 h and promote the down-regulation of FiO2 without causing significant complications.
Key words:
Respiratory distress syndrome, newborn; Continuous positive airway pressure; Pulmonary surfactants; Treatment outcome
Background Clinically, the lung ultrasound (LUS) showed wet lung could cause respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in newborns. This work aimed to investigate LUS changes over time and its potential mechanism as alveolar fluid increase in a rabbit model.Methods A total of 35 New Zealand Rabbits were randomly assigned to seven groups. Models of various alveolar fluid levels were induced by infusion of different volumes of normal saline (NS) via the endotracheal tube. LUS was performed before NS infusion, immediately after NS infusion and 4 h after NS infusion. To appraise LUS changes and its potential mechanism as alveolar fluid increase, histopathological examination, the mRNA and protein expression of surfactant protein (SP), and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed. The expression levels of SP-B and SP-C proteins were detected using western blotting, and the relative expression levels of SP-B and SP-C mRNA were detected using qRT-PCR.Results The results showed that LUS changed from B-line to lung consolidations accompanied by air-bronchograms in some locations of lungs at 4 h when the injection volume ≥ 6 ml/kg. Histopathological examination showed alveoli collapse, inflammatory cell infiltration and alveolar wall thickened. SP-B and SP-C mRNA and protein expression were statistically significantly reduced when the injection volume ≥6 ml/kg (p < .05). IHC staining displayed the same findings.Conclusions As alveolar fluid increase, LUS changed from wet lung to RDS after 4 h. The possible mechanism was that the SP protein expression was significantly reduced. LUS can be used to guide the administration of exogenous surfactant in this situation.
Lung ultrasound (LU) is increasingly used to diagnose and monitor neonatal pulmonary disorders; however, its role in hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA) has not been elucidated. This prospective study investigated the predictive value of the LU score (LUS) for hsPDA in preterm infants with gestational age (GA) ≤ 25 weeks. Preterm infants with GA ≤ 25 weeks were enrolled in this study. LU was conducted on the fourth day of life (DOL). Six lung regions in every lung were scanned, with each region rated as 0-4 points. The performance of the LUS in predicting hsPDA among infants aged ≤25 weeks was analyzed by plotting the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A total of 81 infants were included in this study. GA, birth weight (BW), gender, Apgar score, delivery mode, antenatal steroids, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, premature rapture of membrane, and early-onset sepsis were not significantly different, but infants in the hsPDA group had increased LUS (38.2 ± 2.8 vs. 30.3 ± 4.3, p < 0.001) compared with non-hsPDA group. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of the LUS on the fourth DOL was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.93-0.99) in predicting hsPDA. The LUS threshold at 33 achieved 89% sensitivity and 83% specificity, with the positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) being 87 and 86%, respectively. The LUS can predict hsPDA in extremely preterm infants at an early stage.
Abstract Background:B-line assessment with lung ultrasound (LUS) has recently been proposed as a reliable, noninvasive semiquantitative tool for evaluating extravascular lung water (EVLW). Currently, there has been no easy quantitative method to evaluate EVLW by LUS. To establish a simple, accurate and clinically operable method for quantitative assessment of EVLW using LUS. Methods:Forty-five New Zealand rabbits were randomized into 9 groups (n=5). After anesthesia, each group of rabbits was injected with different amounts of warm sterile NS (0 ml/kg, 2 ml/kg, 4 ml/kg, 6 ml/kg, 8 ml/kg, 10 ml/kg, 15 ml/kg, 20 ml/kg, 30 ml/kg) via the endotracheal tube. Each rabbit was examined by LUS before and after NS injection. At the same time, the spontaneous respiratory rate (RR, breaths per minute), heart rate (HR, bpm) and arterial blood gas (ABG) of the rabbits were recorded. Then, both lungs were dissected to obtain the wet and dry weight and conduct a complete histological examination.Results:Injecting NS into the lungs through a tracheal tube can successfully establish a rabbit model with increased EVLW. When theNS injection volume is 2~6 ml/kg, comet-tail artifacts and B-lines are the main patterns found on LUS; as additional NS is injected into the lungs, the rabbits' RR gradually increases, while their HR gradually decreases. Confluent B-lines grow gradually but significantly, reaching a dominant position when the NS injection volume reaches 6~8 ml/kg and predominating almost entirely when the NS injection volume is 8~15 ml/kg; at that time, rabbits' RRs and HRs decrease sharply, and the ABG indicated type I respiratory failure (RF). Compact B-lines occur and predominate almost entirely when the NS injection volume reaches 10 ml/kg and 15~20 ml/kg, respectively. At that time, rabbits begin to enter cardiac and respiratory arrest, and ABG shows type II RF and metabolic acidosis (MA).Conclusion: LUS can estimate EVLW content based on the type of B-line.We can give clinical treatment depending on the type of LUS B-line.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)