Abstract

DE LA ROSA RAMIREZ, Roberto et al. Pulmonary echography as a diagnostic tool of pneumonia acquired in the community in children. Salud, Barranquilla [online]. 2018, vol.34, n.1, pp.174-184. ISSN 0120-5552.  https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.34.1.10726.

Pneumonia is defined clinically as the acute presence of fever accompanied by respiratory symptoms and signs that may or may not be accompanied by radiographic findings. However, the signs and symptoms that accompany the disease in the pediatric age are nonspecific. Chest radiography continues to be the gold standard for the diagnosis of pneumonia. Contrary to this, chest radiography is not routinely recommended in case of suspected pneumonia. The tomography and the magnetic resonance offer better diagnostic tools, nevertheless these, along with the x-ray, lead to an exposure to ionizing radiation and to a greater cost in the health services.

It is known that ionizing radiation is capable of potentially causing damage to tissues and even more so in children. In recent years, different studies have proposed pulmonary ultrasound as a diagnostic aid for pneumonia, offering advantages such as not requiring the use of sedatives, exposure to ionizing radiation, easy transport and offering better resolution regarding the diagnosis of septa.

Many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of pulmonary ultrasound for the diagnosis of pneumonia. A recent meta-analysis reported a sensitivity of 96% (95% CI 94-97%) and a specificity of 93% (95% CI 90-96%) for pulmonary ultrasound for the diagnosis of pneumonia. Deducing that the pulmonary ultrasound is projected as a diagnostic tool for pneumonia, being equal or superior to chest radiography.

Keywords : community acquired pneumonia; diagnosis; pulmonary ultrasound; chest X-ray.

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