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Enrolling by invitationNCT05925075Updated May 22, 2026

Point of Care Lung Ultrasound in Preterm Infants With Respiratory Distress

An observational study in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, sponsored by Phoenix Children's Hospital. Enrolling by invitation at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 0 Days and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-22.

Sponsored by Phoenix Children's Hospital · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
150
Ages
0 Days and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the role of bedside lung ultrasound in infants born prematurely with breathing problems. The main question this study aims to answer is: Can bedside lung ultrasound performed in the first month of life predict the development of chronic lung disease in premature infants?

Read the detailed description

This is a multicenter study including preterm infants born less than 32 weeks gestational age and with a diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Our primary aim is to determine the ability of lung ultrasounds performed in the first month of life to predict the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) at 36 weeks postmenstrual age.

Secondary aims will evaluate the association of lung ultrasound scores with the severity of hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) at time of diagnosis, as well as describe lung ultrasound changes pre and post-treatment with systemic steroid course.

Hypothesis:

  1. LUS scores would have a predictive ability to identify extreme preterm infants at risk of BPD with AUC>0.8.
  2. Higher LUS scores would correlate with higher severity of hemodynamically significant PDA.
  3. LUS scores are expected to be lower after the course of systemic steroids and with lower scores are expected to predict successful extubation following the course of systemic steroids.
02

Conditions studied

  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Keywords

  • lung ultrasound
  • BPD
  • bronchopulmonary dysplasia
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
0 Days and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Probability sample

Study population

All infants who are born less than 32 weeks gestation will be enrolled in the study after obtaining parent's consent.

Inclusion criteria

Infants born less than 32 weeks gestation and meet one or more of the below criteria A) Diagnosis of Respiratory Distress Syndrome B) Diagnosis of PDA C) Post-natal steroid treatment for the purpose of weaning off ventilation support

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Infants with critical congenital heart and lung conditions and those with genetic anomalies.

04

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
150 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • RDS

    Infant born less than 32 weeks gestation with diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome. Lung ultrasounds will be performed on day of life 7, 14, 21, 28 and at corrected gestational age of 36 weeks.

    Diagnostic Test: Lung Ultrasound

  • PDA

    In addition to being less than 32 weeks gestation, subject can qualify for study and receive a lung ultrasound scan at time of echo diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

    Diagnostic Test: Lung Ultrasound

  • Steroid

    Aims are : A: To evaluate changes in LUS scores pre and post treatment with systemic steroid course. B: To evaluate the predictive ability of LUS for successful extubation following course of systemic steroids. Lung ultrasound scans will be done prior to initiation of post-natal steroid, day 1, day 3, day 7, day 10 of treatment and 1 week after steroid is discontinued.

    Diagnostic Test: Lung Ultrasound

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testLung Ultrasound

    Lung ultrasound to be performed at scheduled intervals as described in individual cohorts.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Assess predictive ability of lung ultrasound scores in infants at risk of developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)

    The primary outcome is to assess accuracy measures including specificity, sensitivity and area under ROC of lung ultrasound cut offs for predicting BPD.

    Time frame: The lung ultrasounds will be performed on day of life 7, 14, 21 and 28 and diagnosis of BPD would be per standard criteria.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Association between lung ultrasound scores and severity of patent ductus arteriosus.

    Secondary outcome is to assess correlation between lung ultrasound scores and severity of patent ductus arteriosus.

    Time frame: The lung ultrasound would be performed around the time of echocardiographic diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus and severity determined by standard criteria.

  2. Comparison of lung ultrasound scores pre and post systemic steroid course administration

    Comparison of lung ultrasound scores prior to and after course of systemic steroid administration would be analyzed using paired T-test or the signed Wilcoxon rank sum test.

    Time frame: The lung ultrasound would be performed prior to steroid administration, 24 hours, 72 hours, 7 days, 10 days and 17 days after the first dose of 10 day course of systemic steroid administration.

06

Study locations

1 site
  • Phoenix Children's
    Phoenix, Arizona 85016, United States
07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05925075
Lead sponsor
Phoenix Children's Hospital
Collaborators
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Baylor Scott and White Health, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, LAC+USC Medical Center
Responsible party
Hemananda Muniraman (Staff Physician, Phoenix Children's Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jun 29, 2023
Start date
Apr 17, 2023
Primary completion
Jun 24, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 24, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
May 22, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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