Bedside ultrasound diagnosis of pulmonary contusion.

A 10-year-old boy presented to the emergency department after being struck by a van while crossing the street. He complained of right side chest pain, and a chest radiography was suggestive of pulmonary contusion. The treating physician performed a bedside ultrasound that revealed a right-sided pulmonary contusion that was subsequently confirmed on computed tomography of the thorax. The sonographic features of pulmonary contusion are described, and the possible role of lung sonography in the assessment of pediatric thoracic trauma is discussed.