Lung ultrasound scores can predict patent ductus arteriosus ligation in extremely preterm infants

The authors reported the following findings:

• Eighty-one infants were eligible with a median gestational age and birth weight (BW) of 25 weeks and 710 g, respectively.
• The median time from birth to ligation was 35 days.
• Those who underwent ligation had a longer time of mechanical ventilation (34 versus 19), shorter time of noninvasive respiratory support (39 versus 50), higher incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and severe BPD.
• The LUSs had an area under the ROC of 0.96 for the prediction of ligation.
• A LUSs cutoff of 36 has a sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 86% and positive and negative predictive values of 82% and 98%, respectively.

"Lung ultrasound scores at an early stage of life can predict PDA ligation in extremely preterm infants," the researchers wrote. "It would be helpful to reduce morbidity by reducing the magnitude and duration of respiratory support."

Reference:

Zong, H., Huang, Y., Huang, Z., Zhao, J., Lin, B., Fu, Y., Lin, Y., Yu, Y., Sun, H., & Yang, C. Lung ultrasound score predicts patent ductus arteriosus ligation among neonates ≤25 weeks. Pediatric Pulmonology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.26531