Journal of ultrasonography
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Pneumothorax is defined as the presence of air in the pleural cavity. The incidence of iatrogenic pneumothorax in the pediatric population is 0.3-0.48 in 1000 patients. A conventional chest X-ray, in some cases supplemented with chest computed tomography, is a typical imaging examination used to confirm the diagnosis of pneumothorax. Within the last years, the relevance of transthoracic lung ultrasound in the diagnostic process of this disease entity has greatly increased. This is confirmed by the opinion of a group of experts in ultrasound lung imaging in patients in a life-threatening condition, who strongly recommend a transthoracic ultrasound examination for the diagnosis of pneumothorax in such patients. These data constituted the basis for initiating the prospective studies on the application of this method in pneumothorax diagnosis in patients of pediatric hematology and oncology wards. ⋯ The transthoracic ultrasound examination is a highly effective method in diagnosing iatrogenic pneumothorax in pediatric patients. However, to confirm this conclusion, multicenter studies, among considerably larger populations, are necessary.