Point of Care Neonatal Ultrasound - Head, Lung, Gut and Line Localization

Knowledge and skills of heart, head, lung, gut and basic abdominal ultrasound is of immense utility to clinicians in their day-to-day patient management, and in acute events, in the absence of specialist service back-up. This review examines the potential role of clinician-performed ultrasound in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The bibliographic search of English-language literature was performed electronically using PubMed and EMBASE databases for the different topics we have covered under this review.

Bedside head ultrasound can be used to identify and screen for intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia and post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation. It is also a useful adjuvant tool in the evaluation of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. The relatively new lung ultrasound technique is useful in identifying transient tachypnea, pneumonia, pneumothorax, fluid overload and pleural effusion. Gut ultrasound is useful in identifying necrotizing enterocolitis and probably is better than X-ray in prognostication. Ultrasound is also useful in identifying vascular line positions without radiation exposure.

Ultrasound performed by the clinician has an extensive role in the neonatal intensive care unit. Basic ultrasound knowledge of head, lung and gut is a useful supplement to clinical decision-making.