Lung Ultrasound could be used as a safe and Effective Substitute for Chest X-Rays for the Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Children
|
By MedImaging International staff writers Posted on 26 Apr 2016 |
|
Image: Dr. James Tsung, MD, showcases a lung ultrasound display on a tablet (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai Hospital).
The results of a randomized controlled trial in the pediatric emergency department of a leading medical school in the US suggest that lung ultrasound is highly effective, and safe, for diagnosing pneumonia in children, and could potentially be used as a substitute for standard chest X-Ray exams.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide. While chest X-Rays exams are currently the standard choice for diagnosis, the WHO estimates that 75% of the world’s population does not have access to radiography.
The results of the study were published in the March, 2016 issue of the journal Chest. The study included 191 children aged 0 to 21 years. The children were randomly assigned to receive either a lung ultrasound and if necessary also a chest X-ray, and a control group that underwent a chest X-ray followed by a lung ultrasound. The study was conducted by researchers at the Mount Sinai hospital Icahn School of Medicine (ISMMS; New York, NK, USA).
The researchers found that 38.8% less chest X-Rays were performed in the group that underwent an initial ultrasound exam, compared to no reduction in the control group. No pneumonia cases were missed and there was no increase in any other adverse events. The replacement of X-Ray exams by ultrasound resulted in overall cost savings of USD 9,200, and reduced the time the children spent in the emergency ward by an average of 26 minutes. The results suggest that lung ultrasound could become the best option for the diagnosis of pneumonia in children, although further research is required.
Dr. Tsung, associate professor at Mount Sinai, and leader of the research team, said, “Ultrasound is portable, cost-saving and safer for children than an X-ray because it does not expose them to radiation. Our study could have a profound impact in the developing world where access to radiography is limited. In the era of precision medicine, lung ultrasound may also be an ideal imaging option in children who are at higher risk for radiation-induced cancers or have received multiple radiographic or CT imaging studies.
Related Links:
Mount Sinai hospital Icahn School of Medicine
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide. While chest X-Rays exams are currently the standard choice for diagnosis, the WHO estimates that 75% of the world’s population does not have access to radiography.
The results of the study were published in the March, 2016 issue of the journal Chest. The study included 191 children aged 0 to 21 years. The children were randomly assigned to receive either a lung ultrasound and if necessary also a chest X-ray, and a control group that underwent a chest X-ray followed by a lung ultrasound. The study was conducted by researchers at the Mount Sinai hospital Icahn School of Medicine (ISMMS; New York, NK, USA).
The researchers found that 38.8% less chest X-Rays were performed in the group that underwent an initial ultrasound exam, compared to no reduction in the control group. No pneumonia cases were missed and there was no increase in any other adverse events. The replacement of X-Ray exams by ultrasound resulted in overall cost savings of USD 9,200, and reduced the time the children spent in the emergency ward by an average of 26 minutes. The results suggest that lung ultrasound could become the best option for the diagnosis of pneumonia in children, although further research is required.
Dr. Tsung, associate professor at Mount Sinai, and leader of the research team, said, “Ultrasound is portable, cost-saving and safer for children than an X-ray because it does not expose them to radiation. Our study could have a profound impact in the developing world where access to radiography is limited. In the era of precision medicine, lung ultrasound may also be an ideal imaging option in children who are at higher risk for radiation-induced cancers or have received multiple radiographic or CT imaging studies.
Related Links:
Mount Sinai hospital Icahn School of Medicine
New
Mobile X-Ray System
K4W
Biopsy Software
Affirm® Contrast
40/80-Slice CT System
uCT 528
Pocket Fetal Doppler
CONTEC10C/CL
Latest Ultrasound News
- Non-Invasive Ultrasound-Based Tool Accurately Detects Infant Meningitis
- Breakthrough Deep Learning Model Enhances Handheld 3D Medical Imaging
- Pain-Free Breast Imaging System Performs One Minute Cancer Scan
- Wireless Chronic Pain Management Device to Reduce Need for Painkillers and Surgery
- New Medical Ultrasound Imaging Technique Enables ICU Bedside Monitoring
- New Incision-Free Technique Halts Growth of Debilitating Brain Lesions
- AI-Powered Lung Ultrasound Outperforms Human Experts in Tuberculosis Diagnosis
- AI Identifies Heart Valve Disease from Common Imaging Test
- Novel Imaging Method Enables Early Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring of Type 2 Diabetes
- Ultrasound-Based Microscopy Technique to Help Diagnose Small Vessel Diseases
- Smart Ultrasound-Activated Immune Cells Destroy Cancer Cells for Extended Periods
- Tiny Magnetic Robot Takes 3D Scans from Deep Within Body
- High Resolution Ultrasound Speeds Up Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
- World's First Wireless, Handheld, Whole-Body Ultrasound with Single PZT Transducer Makes Imaging More Accessible
- Artificial Intelligence Detects Undiagnosed Liver Disease from Echocardiograms
- Ultrasound Imaging Non-Invasively Tracks Tumor Response to Radiation and Immunotherapy
Channels
Radiography
view channel
AI Hybrid Strategy Improves Mammogram Interpretation
Breast cancer screening programs rely heavily on radiologists interpreting mammograms, a process that is time-intensive and subject to errors. While artificial intelligence (AI) models have shown strong... Read more
AI Technology Predicts Personalized Five-Year Risk of Developing Breast Cancer
Breast cancer remains one of the most common cancers among women, with about one in eight receiving a diagnosis in their lifetime. Despite widespread use of mammography, about 34% of patients in the U.... Read more
MRI
view channel
AI-Assisted Model Enhances MRI Heart Scans
A cardiac MRI can reveal critical information about the heart’s function and any abnormalities, but traditional scans take 30 to 90 minutes and often suffer from poor image quality due to patient movement.... Read more
AI Model Outperforms Doctors at Identifying Patients Most At-Risk of Cardiac Arrest
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the most common inherited heart conditions and a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young individuals and athletes. While many patients live normal lives, some... Read more
Nuclear Medicine
view channel
New Camera Sees Inside Human Body for Enhanced Scanning and Diagnosis
Nuclear medicine scans like single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) allow doctors to observe heart function, track blood flow, and detect hidden diseases. However, current detectors are either... Read more
Novel Bacteria-Specific PET Imaging Approach Detects Hard-To-Diagnose Lung Infections
Mycobacteroides abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacteria that primarily affects immunocompromised patients and those with underlying lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary... Read more
General/Advanced Imaging
view channel
Cutting-Edge Angio-CT Solution Offers New Therapeutic Possibilities
Maintaining accuracy and safety in interventional radiology is a constant challenge, especially as complex procedures require both high precision and efficiency. Traditional setups often involve multiple... Read more
Extending CT Imaging Detects Hidden Blood Clots in Stroke Patients
Strokes caused by blood clots or other mechanisms that obstruct blood flow in the brain account for about 85% of all strokes. Determining where a clot originates is crucial, since it guides safe and effective... Read more
Groundbreaking AI Model Accurately Segments Liver Tumors from CT Scans
Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Accurate segmentation of liver tumors is critical for diagnosis and therapy, but manual methods by radiologists... Read more
New CT-Based Indicator Helps Predict Life-Threatening Postpartum Bleeding Cases
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal death worldwide. While most cases can be controlled with medications and basic interventions, some become life-threatening and require invasive treatments.... Read moreImaging IT
view channel
New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible
Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more
Global AI in Medical Diagnostics Market to Be Driven by Demand for Image Recognition in Radiology
The global artificial intelligence (AI) in medical diagnostics market is expanding with early disease detection being one of its key applications and image recognition becoming a compelling consumer proposition... Read more
Industry News
view channel
GE HealthCare and NVIDIA Collaboration to Reimagine Diagnostic Imaging
GE HealthCare (Chicago, IL, USA) has entered into a collaboration with NVIDIA (Santa Clara, CA, USA), expanding the existing relationship between the two companies to focus on pioneering innovation in... Read more
Patient-Specific 3D-Printed Phantoms Transform CT Imaging
New research has highlighted how anatomically precise, patient-specific 3D-printed phantoms are proving to be scalable, cost-effective, and efficient tools in the development of new CT scan algorithms... Read more
Siemens and Sectra Collaborate on Enhancing Radiology Workflows
Siemens Healthineers (Forchheim, Germany) and Sectra (Linköping, Sweden) have entered into a collaboration aimed at enhancing radiologists' diagnostic capabilities and, in turn, improving patient care... Read more