Use of Lung Ultrasound to Diagnose the Etiology of Respiratory Failure in a PICU.

A point-of-care lung ultrasound exam will be performed on admission (no later than 14 hours following admission, allowing for participant stabilization and care) to the PICU and within 6 hours of any escalation in mechanical ventilatory support without interrupting clinical care, by study investigators blinded to participant history, physical examination, and diagnostic testing/imaging and who are not involved in the clinical management of the participant. Investigators will use a six-zone standardized scanning protocol with pattern analysis to form a diagnosis for the cause of the participant's respiratory failure. Images will be acquired by pediatric critical care trainees and saved online; accuracy of diagnoses based on the ultrasound exam will be evaluated by a expert sonographer offline.

Following morning ICU rounds, the PICU fellow or attending physician caring for the participant will be asked for his/her interpretation of the most recent chest radiograph and his/her diagnosis concerning the etiology of the participant's acute respiratory failure. This clinical diagnosis will be compared to ultrasound findings.

Results of chest x-ray will be collected for comparison with ultrasound findings.