Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026
Protocol and Guidelines for Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in Diagnosing Neonatal Pulmonary Diseases Based on International Expert Consensus
Published on: March 6, 2019
Diaphragm ultrasound and lung aeration in small-for-gestational-age versus appropriate-for-gestational-age newborns:
Ingrid Kelly Silva de Macedo1,2, Mayson Laercio de Araujo Sousa3, Bárbara Bernardo Rinaldo da Silva Figueirêdo1,2
1Graduate Program in Rehabilitation and Functional Performance, University of Pernambuco (UPE), Petrolina, Brazil.
Objective:
To compare diaphragm ultrasound findings and lung aeration between SGA and AGA newborns.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, clinically stable term SGA and AGA newborns underwent diaphragm and lung ultrasound. Diaphragm parameters and 6-region lung ultrasound score (LUS) were assessed, with thickness and excursion normalized by birth weight.
Results:
Fifty-four newborns were included (27 SGA and 27 AGA). SGA newborns had lower absolute inspiratory and expiratory diaphragmatic thicknesses; however, these between-group differences were no longer significant after normalization by birth weight. Regression analyses adjusting for body weight continued to demonstrate an association between SGA status and diaphragmatic thickness. No significant differences were observed in diaphragmatic functional indices or pulmonary aeration.
Conclusions:
SGA newborns had lower absolute diaphragmatic thickness than AGA newborns, while diaphragmatic function and pulmonary aeration were preserved. Differences in thickness were influenced by body size but were not fully explained by birth weight.
