The use of lung ultrasound to assess the prevalence of lung interstitial syndrome in paediatric cardiac surgery patients and the measurement of postoperative length of hospital stay

[摘要] Background: In recent years, ultrasound has gained popularity in the assessment of pulmonary pathology, especially inthe critical care setting. However, limited data are available for the use of lung ultrasound (LUS) for the diagnosis oflung interstitial syndrome (LIS) in the paediatric cardiac surgery population.Methods: The aim of this observational cross-sectional study primarily was to assess the prevalence of LIS due toextravascular lung water (EVLW) in paediatric patients with high pulmonary-flow congenital cardiac lesions. Patientswho underwent corrective open heart surgery were scanned immediately post-operatively and B-lines in each of eightthoracic areas were counted. LIS was diagnosed or ruled out based on this result. Secondary outcomes werepostoperative length of stay (LOS) in Cardiothoracic Unit (CTU) and in hospital and whether LIS is associated withprolonged LOS.Results: Twenty children aged between 6 months and 9 years were included in this study. The prevalence of LIS wasfound to be 25%. The median LOS in the CTU for children diagnosed with LIS was 4.0 days (range 3.0 to 6.0) andmedian length of hospital stay was 7.5 days (range 6.0 to 20.0). There was no statistical difference in CTU LOS(p = 0.601) or hospital LOS (p = 0.544) between the groups with or without LIS.Conclusion: Pulmonary complications are common after surgery for congenital heart disease. This study showed aprevalence of LIS of 25%. This can potentially result in increased morbidity and mortality, but the study sample wastoo small to prove this. LUS can be used for early identification and management of complications.

[发布机构] University of the Free State