Lung Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Pleural Effusion in Children

[摘要] Background:Chest radiograph was currentlythe standard imaging for diagnosing pleuraleffusion. However, there were many limitations,namely radiation, varying interpretation, andlong time to get results. Lung ultrasonography isan alternative procedure that is easy to learn andoffers many benefits, including noninvasive, radiation free, fast, valid, and reliable. The objective of this study was to determine sensitivity,specificity, and positive likelihood ratio (LR+)oflung ultrasonography performed by pediatricresident for diagnosing pleural effusionSubjects and Method: This was a cross sectional study at pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)Dr. Moewardi Hospital, Surakarta, Indonesia. Weincluded pediatric patients aged 1 month-18 yearsfrom November 2018 to December 2019. A sample of 44 patients with suspected pleural effusionwas selected by consecutive sampling. Theindependents variable was lung ulrasonography.The dependent variable were pleural effusion. Allsubjects underwent lung ultrasonography andchest radiograph. Sensitivity, specificity, andpositive likelihood ratio were calculated.Results:There were 44 samples with 59.1%under 1 year old and 54.5% were female. Allpatients came to the emergency room withcomplaints of shortness of breath, accompanied by fever (77.3%) or cough (63.6%). Eleven(25.0%) patients had pleural effusion based onthe results of lung ultrasonography. Based onchest radiograph, seven (15.9%) patients hadpleural effusion. Lung ultrasonography hassensitivity of 14.3%, specificity of 73%, and LR+of 0.5 for diagnosing pleural effusion.Conclusion:Lung ultrasonography can be usedas a tool to diagnose pleural effusion with goodspecificity.

[学科分类] 食品科学和技术

[关键词] lung ultrasonography;pleural effusion