292 - Gestational Age Specific Lung Ultrasound Scores in Preterm Infants

Sunday, April 30, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 292
Publication Number: 292.344

INDRANI BHATTACHARJEE, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States; Maggie M. Vogel, Tufts Medical Center, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States; Kate A. Feinstein, UChicago Medicine, CHICAGO, IL, United States; Sudhir Sriram, University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States

Presenting Author(s)

INDRANI BHATTACHARJEE, MD (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
Tufts University School of Medicine
Watertown , Massachusetts, United States

Background: Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a relatively simple way to estimate the aeration of lungs. LUS scores in neonates were extrapolated from pediatric LUS scores. We use the same norms for LUS scores in term and preterm neonates. There is a paucity of data for normative data of gestational age specific LUS scores in preterm infants

Objective: To perform LUS examinations in preterm infants to establish normative data for gestational age-specific LUS scores

Design/Methods: This is an Institutional Review Board approved prospective observational study. Preterm infants admitted to the Margaret M. and George A. Stephen Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital from September 2021 are eligible for the study. LUS is used to evaluate 3 areas of each lung (upper, lower, and lateral). Each area is scored on a 0–3 point system (summarized in fig 1) and summed to obtain the LUS score. We performed ultrasound exams on eligible neonates admitted to our NICU for the first four weeks. Data were expressed in means and standard deviations. We used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to assess the differences of LUS scores between different gestational age groups with Bonferroni correction. We also used multivariate analysis adjusting for important confounders, which can alter the LUS scores such as respiratory illness severity scores and presence and absence of hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus. P-value was set at < 0.05 for statistical significance.

Results: 20 preterm infants were studied weekly for the first four weeks of their post-natal life (13 males 7 females). The mean gestational age was 27 ± 3 weeks and mean birth weight was 1043 ± 265 grams. We divided our study population into three groups: 23-25 weeks, 26-29 weeks and 30-33 weeks. LUS scores were 14 ± 2, 10 ± 3, 8 ± 2 in 23-25, 26-29 and 30-33weeks gestational age groups respectively (p< 0.5) (fig 2). Even after adjusting for important and other potential confounders, there was statistically significant difference in LUS scores between these gestational age groups

Conclusion(s):

1. Distribution of LUS scores differs based on gestational age. 2. When performing LUS, gestational age specific normal values should be taken into consideration.