Diagnostic Accuracy of Lung Ultrasound for Pneumonia in Acutely and Critically Ill Neonates, Children, and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Por:
Guitart-Pardellans C, Becerra J, Bobillo-Perez S, Carrasco JL, Pavon G, Balaguer-Gargallo M and Jordán-García I
Publicada:
8 dic 2025
Ahead of Print:
8 dic 2025
Aceptada:
28 nov 2025
Resumen:
Background: Pneumonia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among critically ill children. Lung ultrasound has emerged as a promising bedside diagnostic tool. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis across PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Scopus, World Health Organization Libraries, Epistemonikos, and MedRxiv was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound for pneumonia in paediatric patients. Publication bias was evaluated using the generalised Egger's test. Diagnostic performance metrics, including sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were pooled using a bivariate random-effects model. Results: Thirty studies comprising a total of 4356 children were included. The studies were of high methodological quality, with minimal heterogeneity. Lung ultrasound pooled sensitivity was 91% (95% CI: 87-94%), and specificity was 90% (95% CI: 83-94%). The ROC curve was 0.95 (95% CI: 0.90-0.95), indicating excellent diagnostic performance. Conclusions: LUS is a reliable and accurate imaging modality for diagnosing pneumonia in critically ill children. The findings support its use as a first-line diagnostic tool in emergency and intensive care settings. PROSPERO Research registration number: CRD42021223679.
Filiaciones:
Univ Barcelona, Hosp St Joan Deu, Paediat Intens Care Unit, Passeig St
Joan Deu 2, Esplugas de Llobregat 08950, Barcelona, Spain
Univ Barcelona, Inst Recerca St Joan Deu, Immunol & Resp Disorders
Paediat Crit Patient Res, Barcelona 08007, Spain
Univ Barcelona, Dept Basic Clin Practice, Biostat Unit, Barcelona 08007,
Spain
Univ Vic Cent Univ Catalonia UVic UCC, Fac Med, Vic 08500, Spain
Univ Barcelona, Med Sch, Med & Surg Dept, Campus Clin, Barcelona 08007,
Inst Recerca St Joan Deu, Paediat Infect Dis Res Grp, Consorcio Invest
Biomed Red Epidemiol & Salud Publ, Barcelona 08950, Spain
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