1Department of Anesthesia, Surgical ICU and Pain Management, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
2Cardiothoracic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
*Corresponding auuthor: Mahmoud M. Elwakeel, Department of Anesthesia, Surgical ICU and Pain Management, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, Email: Drwakeel@gmail.com
Online published on 27 March, 2020.
Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) can be associated with increased extra vascular lung water (EVLW) in patients with a cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD). Lung ultrasonography (LUS) is a noninvasive, easily performed, bedside technique that allows assessment of EVLW.
It is a prospective observational study of 80 pediatric patients with CHD with left to right shunt, scheduled for elective cardiac surgery. LUS were done preoperative, at end of surgery, then every 12 hours for 48 hours. Patients are given LUS score 0–36. LUS results were compared to incidence of PPC.
LUS score showed rise from 1.4 ±2.02 at LUS 0, to 5.6 ±6.89 at LUS 1, followed by slow decrease over time: 4.35 ±7.09, 3.15 ±7.06, 2.68 ±6.79, 2.32 ±6.67. LUS score in patients complicated by PPC showed a significant difference from non-complicated patients; in all LUS scans.
LUS is a safe noninvasive technique that can help predict PPC, in pediatric cardiac patients presented for correction of left-to-right shunt lesions.
Pediatric-congenital heart-postoperative pulmonary complications-lung ultrasonography
