According to a panel of 14 pediatricians from around the world who created the new guidelines to identify babies′ heart, lungs, stomach, and brain functions, stated that bedside sonography can reduce infant death rates in India and worldwide. For every 1,000 births in India, 23 newborns are pronounced dead within the first 28 days of life.

The group of pediatricians stated that newborn lives could be saved if portable bedside sonography, which is done while the patient is in the hospital bed, is utilized extensively and consistently. They presented their study in the European Journal of Pediatrics and suggested employing "point-of-care ultrasound," to measure blood flow through the body, checks for brain bleeding, a buildup of abnormal fluid around the heart or lung, and lung pneumonia was essential.

Dr. Pradeep Suryawanshi, a member of the group who practices in Pune, said the recommendations the doctors have made are implementable in public health settings and can significantly reduce newborn infant mortality.

He stated that newborns frequently have rapid, unexpected clinical deterioration or cardiorespiratory instability, known as "crashing." Although they mainly depend on clinical assessment alone, the established resuscitation protocols offer a great framework for stabilizing and assessing these newborns. However, the ability to uncover underlying pathophysiology in ill neonates is limited by clinical examination. For use in neonatal emergencies, the Crashing Neonate Protocol (CNP) uses point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). It can be used in the neonatal critical care unit (NICU) on both term and pre-term babies. He said that the Center′s strategy to reduce India′s infant death rate to a single-digit level by 2025 might benefit from the increased usage of portable bedside sonography.

(Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/bedside-sonography-can-curb-infant-mortality-rate-doctors/articleshowprint/95069847.cms)