Abstract
Diseases of the respiratory system are among the main problems of premature patients
in the neonatal intensive care unit. Radiography of the thorax is the gold standard
of imaging. This results in high cumulative radiation exposure with potential negative
long-term consequences. Ultrasound examination of thoracic structures represents a
promising radiation-free and ubiquitously available alternative.
A healthy, ventilated lung can only be imaged via artifacts, since total reflection
of the sound waves occurs due to the high impedance difference between tissue and
air-filled lung. Pathologies of pleura and subpleural lung tissue lead to changes
in the acoustic properties of the tissue and thus to variations in the artifacts that
can be imaged. The main sonographic characteristics of pulmonary pathology are: pleural
line abnormalities, increased B-lines and comet-tail artifacts, lung consolidations,
a visible pulmonary pulse, pleural sliding abnormalities, and visualization of effusions.
Deviations from normal sonographic findings can be assigned to specific underlying
pathophysiologies, so that conclusions about the disease can be drawn in conjunction
with the clinical symptoms.
