Neonatal Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasonography: Techniques and Normal Findings

Point-of-care lung ultrasonography (POC-LUS) has become a routine bedside tool for evaluating respiratory status in many neonatal intensive care units. This article walks neonatologists through the fundamentals of its application—probe selection, system setup, and image acquisition. Lung aeration can be assessed using a 6-zone scanning approach. We review the normal sonographic appearance of the neonatal lung, including lung sliding, A-lines, and the B-lines commonly seen during transitional physiology, and describe how M-mode confirms pleural motion when sliding is equivocal. Common pitfalls in both technique and interpretation are addressed directly. In the hands of a trained neonatologist, POC-LUS brings real physiologic information to the bedside without leaving the room.