Ultrasound detected prenatal hyperechoic lung lesions and concordance with postnatal findings

Objective

Hyperechoic lung lesions are largely detected prenatally but their underlying etiology is still poorly defined. The aim of the study was to determine the concordance between pre and postnatal diagnosis of hyperechoic lung lesions.

Methods

Prenatal ultrasound (US) evaluation was performed by a fetal medicine specialist. Postnatal diagnosis was based on CT‐scan. Pre‐ and postnatal features were retrieved from medical charts.

Results

Seventy five patients were included from January 2009 to December 2018. Main prenatal diagnoses were bronchopulmonary sequestrations (BPS) (n = 24%‐32%), pulmonary cystic malformations (PCM) (n = 19%‐25%), congenital lobar emphysemas (CLE) (n = 15%‐20%). Mediastinal shift was observed in 18 cases (24%). The prenatal detection of a systemic arterial supply had a diagnostic accuracy of 90%, while the prenatal detection of a cystic component had a diagnostic accuracy of 76.5%.

All 16 neonates with prenatal isolated mediastinal shift were asymptomatic at birth. Seven neonates showed respiratory distress that was not predicted prenatally.

Conclusions

Hyperechoic lung malformations reflect a heterogeneous group of lesions with a good concordance for bronchopulmonary sequestration, but not a satisfying prediction for cystic lesions.