Meta-Analysis of Lung Ultrasound Scores for Early Prediction of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Rationale: Lung ultrasound scores (LUS) might be useful in monitoring neonates with chronic pulmonary insufficiency of prematurity and in predicting bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Given their ease of use, accuracy, and lack of invasiveness, LUS have been the subject of several recent studies.Objectives: We sought to clarify whether LUS provide an accurate and early (within the first 2 wk of life) prediction of BPD in preterm infants of gestational age 0.05). Repeating the analyses without outliers or with moderate to severe BPD as the outcome yielded similar results. Meta-regressions showed that prenatal steroid prophylaxis and sex were not significant effect confounders.Conclusions: LUS are accurate for early prediction of BPD and moderate to severe BPD, in an average population of preterm infants <= 32 weeks' gestation. The diagnostic accuracy is similar for LUS and eLUS, so the use of the simpler score should be advocated