{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T16:13:06Z","timestamp":1788970386389,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]],"date-time":"2022-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1647820800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Lung ultrasound (LUS) is increasing in its popularity for the diagnosis of pulmonary complications in acute pediatric care settings. Despite the high incidence of pulmonary complications for patients with pediatric cardiovascular and congenital heart disease, especially in children undergoing cardiac surgery, the use of LUS remains quite limited in these patients. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview and list of current potential applications for LUS in children with congenital heart disease, post-surgery. We herein describe protocols for LUS examinations in children, discuss diagnostic criteria, and introduce methods for the diagnosis and classification of pulmonary disease commonly encountered in pediatric cardiology (e.g., pleural effusion, atelectasis, interstitial edema, pneumothorax, pneumonia, and diaphragmatic motion analysis). Furthermore, applications of chest ultrasounds for the evaluation of the retrosternal area, and in particular, systematic search criteria for retrosternal clots, are illustrated. We also discussed the potential applications of LUS, including the guidance of interventional procedures, namely lung recruitment and drainage insertion. Lastly, we analyzed current gaps in knowledge, including the difficulty of the quantification of pleural effusion and atelectasis, and the need to differentiate different etiologies of B-lines. We concluded with future applications of LUS, including strain analysis and advanced analysis of diaphragmatic mechanics. In summary, US is an easy, accurate, fast, cheap, and radiation-free tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of major pulmonary complications in pediatric cardiac surgery, and we strongly encourage its use in routine practice.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics12030763","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]],"date-time":"2022-03-21T13:24:59Z","timestamp":1647869099000},"page":"763","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Overview of Lung Ultrasound in Pediatric Cardiology"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Massimiliano","family":"Cantinotti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, 54100 Massa, Italy"},{"name":"Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4801-608X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pietro","family":"Marchese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, 54100 Massa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raffaele","family":"Giordano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Adult and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples \u201cFederico II\u201d, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eliana","family":"Franchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, 54100 Massa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nadia","family":"Assanta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, 54100 Massa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vivek","family":"Jani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Taussig Heart Center, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shelby","family":"Kutty","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Taussig Heart Center, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0716-453X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luna","family":"Gargani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1214","DOI":"10.1016\/j.athoracsur.2014.01.060","article-title":"Lung ultrasonography and pediatric cardiac surgery: First experience with a new tool for postoperative lung complications","volume":"97","author":"Vitale","year":"2014","journal-title":"Ann. 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