Respiratory tract infections are a major cause of hospitalization among pediatric and adult patients, regardless of the cause, whether viral or bacterial. It is critical to stratify each patient's risk to predict the subsequent clinical course. Point-of-care chest ultrasonography in parallel with clinical evaluation has been found to be an effective tool to assess the severity of pathology. A number of scores have been validated on the basis of the ultrasound picture. Currently, a growing interest is directed toward the unambiguous validation of an ultrasound score that can predict the patient's outcome in terms of hospitalization, ICU admission, need for a more pronounced approach in terms of respiratory care both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Patients aged 0 to 20 years with a clinical diagnosis of respiratory tract infection, evaluated in the emergency department and then discharged home or admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit or Pediatrics Department.
Informed consent signed by parents or patient of legal age
Refusal to sign informed consent
Patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Foreign body aspiration cases
Patients with pulmonary malformations