Ultrasound of the Neonatal Thorax

Echocardiographic two-dimensional view of the pulmonary valve in infants: the high transsternal view

“…The transsternal view is routinely used by paediatric radiologists to study infant mediastinal structures; 6 however, after reviewing the literature and specific paediatric echocardiography texts, we have found no reported use of this view as part of a systematic echocardiographic study of the heart in neonates and young infants. After including this approach in the daily echocardiographic assessment of our patients, we can conclude that this high transsternal view allows the sonographer to easily define the pulmonary valve anatomy of infants with different underlying pathologies, even in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation, accurately identifying congenital anomalies when present (Fig 2).…”

Chest and lung ultrasound in childhood: applications, role, value and limitations

“…Sonographic assessment of the heart (echocardiography) was actually one of the first applications of ultrasound (US). Other chest US uses that have been recognized for a long time and became part of many standard US textbooks include an assessment of the thymus and mediastinum, pleural effusions, consolidations, diaphragmatic movements and sometimes tumours in adults and children (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9) .With time, other applications have been gradually introduced, such as chest wall assessment, including the ribs (especially the cartilaginous portion e.g. for rib anomalies), sternum (e.g.…”