Introduction
High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is a lung-sparing strategy
that is frequently applied as a rescue therapy in neonates when
conventional mechanical ventilation methods fail, and its use in
neonatal units has increased over the past years. It prevents the
traumatic ’inflation-deflation’ cycle generated by conventional
ventilation by maintaining a low tidal volume and constant mean airway
pressure [1]. Although it works by reducing
excessive tension in the alveoli with very small tidal volumes,
providing optimal lung volume is important for effective HFOV[2]. The inability to reliably measure changes in
lung volume at the point of care is one of the most significant barriers
to optimize lung volume during HFOV in
newborns[3]. Although numerous approaches for
determining appropriate lung capacity in HFOV have been tried, they have
not yet been widely used due to practical constraints[4-7]. Although the simpler method of CXR has
limitations, lung expansion can be measured to a certain extent.
The purpose of this study was to compare the results of POCUS with CXR
to limit radiation exposure while being fast and more practical in the
neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).