Bronchoalveolar Lavage to Treat Neonatal Meconium Aspiration Syndrome Under Monitoring of Lung Ultrasound Based on a Prospective Case Series Study

Objectives: This study investigated the efficacy and safety of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) under lung ultrasound (LUS) monitoring for the treatment of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). Methods: A total of 120 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: a BAL group (70 patients) and a control group (50 patients). Patients in the BAL group received an injection of lavage fluid through an endotracheal tube. After each lavage, LUS was performed to assess lung pathological changes. The control group underwent the traditional treatment. The rate of invasive and/or noninvasive ventilator use, time of ventilator use, incidence of pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) and/or incidence of pneumothorax, duration of hospitalization of pediatric patients, hospitalization expenses and mortality were compared between the 2 groups. Results: Compared with the control group, MAS patients in the BAL group had (1) a significantly lower rate of invasive ventilator use (reduced by 57.7%, P < 0.001), (2) a significantly shortened duration of invasive ventilator treatment (reduced by 84.6%, P < 0.001), (3) a significantly reduced incidence of PPHN and/or pneumothorax (reduced by 84.6%, P < 0.001), (4) a reduced rate of mortality (from 2% to 0%), (5) a significantly shortened duration of hospitalization (reduced by 30.1%, P < 0.001), (6) significantly reduced hospitalization expenses (reduced by 42.6%, P < 0.001), and (7) stable vital signs during lavage among all patients, with no adverse effects. Conclusions: Treatment of MAS using BAL under LUS monitoring showed remarkable efficacy without adverse effects.