TOMOGRAFIA DE IMPEDÂNCIA ELÉTRICA NA POPULAÇÃO NEONATAL E PEDIÁTRICA: UMA REVISÃO SISTEMÁTICA

OBJECTIVE: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive and radiation-free monitoring technique. The evaluation of EIT results can guide the effectiveness of different therapies, enabling better decisions, standardized behavior, and optimization in the use of resources. The objective is to characterize the use of electrical impedance tomography in the neonatal and pediatric population. METHODS: This is a systematic review, in which articles without language restrictions that addressed the applicability of electrical impedance tomography in the neonatal and pediatric population were analyzed. This review followed the PRISMA recommendations (Key Items for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis). RESULTS: A total of 309 studies were found, of which 302 were excluded according to the eligibility criteria, and 7 were included. All studies investigated the applicability of EIT as an assessment tool for pediatric or neonatal patients. EIT was shown to be effective in evaluating ventilation before extubation, comparing transverse alterations and total lung volume, evaluating the effects of body and head positions on the spatial distribution of ventilation, for potential diagnostic use in pediatric patients with asthma, feasible as a complementary tool in the assessment of community-acquired pneumonia in children, monitoring ventilation and perfusion in newborns and critically ill children, and evaluating recent advances in EIT related to cardiopulmonary imaging. CONCLUSION: EIT has been shown to be an effective monitoring technique for pediatric and neonatal patients. Future studies are needed to improve clinical practice.