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Due to their susceptibilities, neonates and infants face unique SARS-CoV-2 challenges. This retrospective study will compare the illness course, symptoms, biomarkers, and lung damage in neonates and infants with SARS-CoV-2 infection from February 2020 to October 2023. This study was conducted at two hospitals in Timisoara, Romania, using real-time multiplex PCR to diagnose and lung ultrasonography (LUS) to assess lung involvement. Neonates had a more severe clinical presentation, an increased immune response, and greater lung involvement. Neonates had more PCR-positive tests (p = 0.0089) and longer hospital stays (p = 0.0002). In neonates, LDH, CRP, and ferritin levels were higher, indicating a stronger inflammatory response. Reduced oxygen saturation in neonates indicates respiratory dysfunction. The symptoms were varied. Infants had fever, cough, and rhinorrhea, while neonates had psychomotor agitation, acute dehydration syndrome, and candidiasis. This study emphasizes individualized care and close monitoring for neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infections. Newborn lung ultrasonography showed different variances and severity levels, emphasizing the need for targeted surveillance and therapy. Newborns have high lung ultrasound scores (LUSS), indicating significant lung involvement. Both groups had initial lung involvement, but understanding these modest differences is crucial to improving care for these vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newborns infected with SARS-CoV2 infection develop different symptoms in comparison with adults, but one thing is clear: some of the most common manifestations include cough and other respiratory symptoms that need to be evaluated. In these cases, lung ultrasound is a useful imaging technique that can evaluate the newborns' lung damage caused by COVID-19 pneumonia and can be used for the surveillance of the patients as well, being non-irradiating and easy to use. Nineteen neonates who were confirmed as having SARS-CoV2 infection were investigated using this imaging tool, and the results were compared and correlated with their symptoms and biomarkers. The mean of LUSS was 12.21 ± 3.56 (S.D), while the 95% CI for the arithmetic mean was 10.49–13.93. The difference of an independent t-test between the LUSS for the patient who presented cough and the LUSS for the patient without cough was −4.48 with an associated p-value of p = 0.02. The Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.89 (p = 0.03, 95% CI 0.0642 to 0.993) between the LUSS and IL-6 level showed a positive strong correlation. This reliable correlation between lung ultrasound score and inflammatory markers suggests that LUS could be used for monitoring inflammatory lung diseases in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newborns with SARS-CoV-2 infection that developed respiratory symptoms are a special category of patients, due to the fact that irradiating imaging tools are not recommended at their age. Because of their high cellular division rate, the X-ray and computer tomography scans should be avoided. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relevance of lung ultrasound (LU) in surveillance of neonates with SARS-CoV-2 infection. In our study we searched PubMed, ScienceDirect and Embase databases based on the following keyword: 'newborn', 'neonate', 'COVID-19', 'sonography', 'lung ultrasound'. The found articles were selected using inclusion and exclusion criteria, such as: lung ultrasound as diagnostic tool, newborns, neonates and <28 days of life as population of interest and COVID-19 pneumonia as pathology criteria. Moreover, we analysed a group of 11 patients with infection who was admitted at 'Pius Brinzeu' County Emergency Clinical Hospital at Neonatology Department. From the total of articles, we selected 8 of them, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and we analysed their results. After that, we compared their resulted data with the ultrasound findings from our evaluated newborns. The main changes found using LU include decreasing to disappearing physiological A-lines, rare or confluent B-lines, subpleural consolidations, and pleura abnormalities such as thickening and irregularities. Furthermore, the severity of lung injuries was analysed based on a 12-area score. Regarding neonates, lung ultrasound is an important tool in the evaluation of lung injuries associated with this infection, being demonstrated in several reviewed studies. Also, this imaging technique come with the benefits of being a repetitive, radiation-free, easy-to-use and reliable procedure for observing the impact and surveillance of COVID-19 on the neonates' respiratory system. This imaging method was proved useful also in other respiratory diseases and could eventually be an indispensable item in the management and monitoring of newborns with respiratory infections, contouring new horizons in using it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/objective. The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic is assessed with respiratory symptoms and lung injuries among newborns. The neonatal population should be carefully investigated, and radiation exposure should be avoided as much as possible. The aim of this review is to emphasize the importance of lung ultrasound (LUS) in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and method. Our systematic literature review studies the benefits of LUS for newborns with COVID-19 infection, by comparing this non-irradiating method with other imaging techniques – X-ray and computed tomography. We used the terms “lung ultrasound”, “sonography”, “newborn”, “neonate” and “COVID-19” in order to determine the eligible articles. The search was performed using the following databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect and Embase. Results. A total of 453 studies matched our search and, after we applied inclusion and exclusion criteria and the removed the duplicates, eight articles were finally included in our study. The primary modifications detected by lung ultrasound technique in the pulmonary fields were decreasing and disappearance of A-lines, sparse and confluent B-lines, subpleural consolidations, thickening of the pleura and others pleural irregularities. Discussion and conclusions. LUS is a useful imaging technique in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia in neonates, being a noninvasive, easy-to-use and reliable method for detecting lung lesions. Even though only a few studies talk about using LUS in diagnosing newborns with SARS-CoV-2 infection, their results are clear – LUS has a lot of advantages regarding this pandemic. This imaging technique could become an indispensable tool in the management of neonates with respiratory infections, being radiation-free. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 infection has occurred in neonates, but it is a fact that radiation exposure is not recommended given their age. The aim of this review is to assess the evidence on the utility of lung ultrasound (LUS) in neonates diagnosed with COVID-19. Methods: A systematic literature review was performed so as to find a number of published studies assessing the benefits of lung ultrasound for newborns diagnosed with COVID and, in the end, to make a comparison between LUS and the other two more conventional procedures of chest X-rays or CT exam. The key terms used in the search of several databases were: "lung ultrasound", "sonography", "newborn", "neonate", and "COVID-19′. Results: In total, 447 studies were eligible for this review, and after removing the duplicates, 123 studies referring to LU were further examined, but only 7 included cases of neonates. These studies were considered for the present research paper. Conclusions: As a non-invasive, easy-to-use, and reliable method for lung lesion detection in neonates with COVID-19, lung ultrasound can be used as a useful diagnosis tool for the evaluation of COVID-19-associated lung lesions. The benefits of this method in this pandemic period are likely to arouse interest in opening new research horizons, with immediate practical applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]