Lung UltrasouNd Guided surfactant therapy in preterm infants: an international multicenter randomized control trial (LUNG study).

BACKGROUND: The management of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature newborns is based on different types of non-invasive respiratory support and on surfactant replacement therapy (SRT) to avoid mechanical ventilation as it may eventually result in lung damage. European guidelines currently recommend SRT only when the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) exceeds 0.30. The literature describes that early SRT decreases the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and mortality. Lung ultrasound score (LUS) in preterm infants affected by RDS has proven to be able to predict the need for SRT and different single-center studies have shown that LUS may increase the proportion of infants that received early SRT. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine if the use of LUS as a decision tool for SRT in preterm infants affected by RDS allows for the reduction of the incidence of BPD or death in the study group. METHODS/DESIGN: In this study, 668 spontaneously-breathing preterm infants, born at 25+0 to 29+6 weeks' gestation, in nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) will be randomized to receive SRT only when the FiO2 cut-off exceeds 0.3 (control group) or if the LUS score is higher than 8 or the FiO2 requirements exceed 0.3 (study group) (334 infants per arm). The primary outcome will be the difference in proportion of infants with BPD or death in the study group managed compared to the control group. DISCUSSION: Based on previous published studies, it seems that LUS may decrease the time to administer surfactant therapy. It is known that early surfactant administration decreases BPD and mortality. Therefore, there is rationale for hypothesizing a reduction in BPD or death in the group of patients in which the decision to administer exogenous surfactant is based on lung ultrasound scores. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT05198375 . Registered on 20 January 2022.

Incidence of ultrasonographic signs of pneumothorax in asymptomatic neonates.

INTRODUCTION: Pneumothorax in neonates can be life-threatening. In neonates without respiratory distress, spontaneous pneumothorax can also develop under certain conditions. OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of ultrasonographic signs of pneumothorax in asymptomatic neonates using lung ultrasound as the diagnostic tool. METHODS: This was an observational prospective study conducted at the Basurto University Hospital (Bilbao, Spain) between January 2018 and December 2020. Lung ultrasound was performed during routine examination of asymptomatic neonates admitted to the maternity ward. RESULTS: Of a total of 204 asymptomatic neonates included in the study, 21 (10.3%) presented ultrasound signs of pneumothorax (Group A), and 183 (89.7%) had a normal lung ultrasound (Group B). Lung ultrasound was performed after a mean of 19 h of life (range 9-34). The presence of A-lines behind the sternum in the anterior transverse plane, at the intermammillary level, was observed in 100% of patients in Group A compared to no cases in Group B (p < 0.0001). The neonates of Group A presented the lung point located in the midclavicular line, indicative of a mild air leak. CONCLUSIONS: Lung ultrasound allows precise detection of suspected small-sized air leaks that can be detected in asymptomatic neonates. The true incidence of pneumothorax in asymptomatic neonates may be substantially higher than previously described in the literature.

Usefulness of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis and follow-up of respiratory diseases in neonates.

OBJECTIVE: Lung ultrasound is a useful tool for diagnosis and follow-up of diseases in critically ill neonates. Its use is increasingly widespread thanks to its advantages over other imaging tests and the rapidly growing body of evidence to support it, and "point-of-care ultrasound" (POCUS) has become a key component in neonatal guidelines. The objective of this special article is to present the foundations and the established diagnostic and therapeutic applications of lung ultrasonography as well as introducing new applications. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Lung Ultrasound Section of the Neonatal Ultrasonography Working Group of the Spanish Neonatology Society has summarised the current scientific evidence. The article describes the sonographic features of the most common respiratory diseases, discusses some of the applications of ultrasound in neonatal care (such as prediction of admission and need of surfactant, ultrasound-guided procedures or monitoring of lung development in premature infants) and proposes its introduction in other scenarios in which its use is not quite established at present, such as resuscitation or respiratory management. This article reaffirms the usefulness of lung ultrasound in guiding diagnosis, clinical decision-making and prognosis and facilitating procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Lung ultrasound should be established as the gold standard for diagnosis of respiratory diseases in neonates. Therefore, training in lung ultrasound should be included in the educational curriculum of neonatologists and in diagnostic and therapeutic care protocols. Research on the subject should continue to be pursued with performance of rigorous multicentre studies to increase the quality of the evidence.