Chest ultrasound compared to chest X-ray for pediatric pulmonary tuberculosis

Introduction Chest ultrasound is increasingly used to radiologically diagnose childhood pneumonia, but there are limited data on its use for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Aim Compare chest ultrasound with a chest X-ray (CXR) findings. Methods Children (up to 13 years) with suspected PTB were enrolled. Bedside chest ultrasound findings were compared to CXR. The analysis was stratified by PTB category: confirmed PTB (microbiologically confirmed), unconfirmed PTB (clinical diagnosis with negative microbiological tests), or unlikely PTB (other respiratory diseases with improvement without tuberculosis treatment). Results One hundred fifty-nine children were enrolled (57% boys, median age 26.6 months [interquartile range 15.1-59.3]). Ultrasound detected abnormalities in 72% (n = 114), CXR in 56% (n = 89), P Conclusion Ultrasound detected abnormalities more frequently than CXR with the higher inter-reader agreement; ultrasound abnormalities were most common in children with confirmed PTB. Ultrasound is a promising modality for detecting abnormalities in PTB. Further studies should evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound against a gold standard.