Conclusion: LUS can be adopted by the clinician as a non-invasive bedside tool to expand the physical evaluation of febrile children with respiratory distress. In our study, LUS results appeared not only as reliable as CXR in detecting lung consolidations but also consistent with clinical and laboratory data.

What is known:

• The diagnosis of pneumonia is mainly based on physical examination plus radiologic and laboratory evaluation when needed.
• Although lung ultrasound (LUS) has shown high sensitivity in detecting several pleuropulmonary diseases in adults, its role in the work-up of pneumonia in children is not yet widely recognized. ...