Lung Ultrasonography as Tool for Follow Up of Ventilated Neonates for Prediction of Weaning Readiness

Abstract

iming is crucial when deciding whether a patient can be successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation or not. As both premature extubation and unnecessary delay have been associated with poor outcome (Soliman et al., 2019). There are no enough guidelines for the assessment of readiness of a newborn for extubation. Lung ultrasound can detect reduction in parenchymal aeration from respiratory, cardiac, or diaphragmatic origin. This reduction is quantified through LUS score, a scale which values range from 0 to 36 points, calculated from the sum of the grades assigned to different aeration patterns observed in every examined area of the lung (Llamas-Álvarez et al., 2017).