Pediatric Lung Abscess: Immediate Diagnosis by Point-of-Care Ultrasound

The diagnosis of lung abscess can be difficult to make and often requires imaging beyond plain chest x-ray. The decision to further image with computed tomography should be weighed against the risks of radiation exposure, especially in pediatric patients. In addition, the cost and potential impact on length of stay from obtaining computed tomography scans should be considered. In this report, we describe a case of lung abscess made immediately using point-of-care ultrasound in the emergency department. To our knowledge, there are no previous cases describing lung abscess diagnosed by point-of-care ultrasound. This case report aims to describe a case of pediatric lung abscess, review the ultrasound findings, and discuss relevant literature on the topic.