Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To explore the predictive value of dynamic changes in lung ultrasound score (LUS), serum leukotriene B4 clearance rate (LTB4c), procalcitonin clearance rate (PCTc) and C-reactive protein clearance rate (CRPc) for poor prognosis after bronchoalveolar lavage treatment in neonatal pneumonia.
METHODS A total of 300 neonates with pneumonia admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2025 were selected as the study subjects. Based on the recovery status at 30 days after treatment, they were divided into a good prognosis group (n=205) and a poor prognosis group (n=95). A multiple linear regression (MLR) model was used to analyze the correlation between LTB4c, PCTc, CRPc and LUS scores at 7 to 14 days of treatment. A logistic regression model was employed to analyze the correlation between LUS score at 14 days of treatment and LTB4c, PCTc, CRPc with prognosis. A restricted cubic spline (RCS) model was used to evaluate the dose-response relationship between LUS score at 14 days of treatment and LTB4c, PCTc, CRPc with poor prognosis at 30 days of treatment. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of LUS score at 14 days of treatment and LTB4c, PCTc, CRPc for poor prognosis at 30 days of treatment.
RESULTS The poor prognosis group had lower levels of LTB4c, PCTc and CRPc (P<0.05) and higher LUS scores (P<0.05) at 7 to 14 days of treatment than the good prognosis group. After adjusting for confounding factors, the MLR analysis revealed that LUS scores at 14 days of treatment were negatively correlated with LTB4c, PCTc and CRPc (β=−0.423, P=0.013. β=−0.461, P=0.009. β=−0.511, P=0.006). Logistic regression analysis indicated that, after excluding confounding factors (model 5), LUS scores, LTB4c, PCTc and CRPc were correlated with poor prognosis at 30 days of treatment (P<0.05). RCS analysis demonstrated a nonlinear dose-response relationship between the continuous changes in LUS scores, LTB4c, PCTc, CRPc and the risk of poor prognosis at 30 days of treatment. The combined assessment of LUS scores, LTB4c, PCTc and CRPc demonstrated high accuracy in predicting poor prognosis at 30 days of treatment, the area under the curve was 0.823.
CONCLUSIONS LUS scores, LTB4c, PCTc and CRPc are all correlated with poor prognosis in neonatal pneumonia, and reductions in LTB4c, PCTc and CRPc are correlated to increases in LUS scores. The combined model of LUS scores with LTB4c, PCTc and CRPc can accurately predict the risk of poor prognosis in children.