Lung Ultrasound for Assisting in the Diagnosis of Pneumonia

Venue, Venue family, pediatric, lungs

Worldwide, pneumonia is the single leading cause of death in children under the age of five.1 This serious infectious disease results in high hospitalization and mortality rates. The symptoms of pneumonia may develop suddenly or gradually over a few days—either way, early diagnosis is critical for initiating treatment and preventing potential complications such as respiratory failure or sepsis. A lung ultrasound taken at the bedside, known as a Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), can assist in diagnosing pneumonia with greater accuracy compared with a bedside chest X-ray.2

The GE Healthcare Venue Family comes equipped with several lung ultrasound features able to support physicians diagnosing pneumonia. The Lung Sweep, a rapid visualization tool, provides a dynamic panoramic view of the entire lung. It automatically activates at the start of each sweep as the probe touches the body. The tool then deactivates when the probe is lifted, so there is no need to touch the system screen. Lung Sweep can also work together with the Auto B-lines tool to highlight B-lines over the entire panoramic view and display the frame with most B-lines per rib space. Lung Sweep can also ensure quality control by informing the operator when they are scanning too quickly.

Compared with other imaging modalities, lung ultrasound is easily repeatable and detects lung findings earlier, making it a useful tool for aiding in diagnosing lung diseases. Learn more about how GE Healthcare's Venue Family of lung POCUS tools can assist in diagnosing pediatric and adult pneumonia.

Download the whitepaper here.

References:
  1. World Health Organization. Pneumonia. WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia. Accessed June 10, 2022.
  2. Systematic review and meta-analysis for the use of ultrasound versus radiology in diagnosing of pneumonia, Saeed Ali Alzahrani et al. Crit Ultrasound J. 2017; 9: 6. doi: 10.1186/s13089-017-0059-y