The Use of Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Pediatric Patients.

Traditional methods to evaluate for pediatric pneumonia include clinical examination and chest radiography (CXR). Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a promising, noninvasive alternative for diagnosing pediatric pneumonia. This review highlights the diagnostic accuracy, benefits, and limitations of LUS compared with clinical assessment and CXR in pediatric patients with suspected pneumonia. Multiple meta-analyses demonstrate that LUS offers high sensitivity (up to 94%) and specificity (up to 96%) in diagnosing pediatric pneumonia, comparable to or exceeding CXR performance. LUS provides significant advantages, including no radiation, bedside applicability, and lower costs. However, challenges remain in standardizing LUS interpretation, particularly distinguishing bacterial pneumonia from viral illness and asthma, where overlapping ultrasound findings are common and require careful clinical correlation. Standardized protocols, clinician training, and diagnostic algorithms are essential to optimize LUS utility in pediatric respiratory care. Further research is warranted to refine differentiation between bacterial and viral etiologies and effectively integrate LUS into routine clinical pathways.