Utility of abdominal ultrasound as a screening test in children
Małgorzata Placzyńska, Marianna Lichosik, Anna Jung
Abdominal ultrasound is extremely useful in paediatrics. It can be used not only to diagnose diseases but also as a screening test. Objectives: The aim of this study was to prove that abdominal ultrasound in children can be used as a screening test. Methods: One hundred seventy-five children were examined. These were patients who never had such a test before; 29% of them were infants, 71% constituted children over 1 year. Results: In 14% of examined children abnormalities were detected. The most common anomaly was renal dilatation. The abnormalities in abdominal ultrasound were found in 19.3% of examined girls and in 10.3% of boys. Among the infants it was 27.4% and among children over 1 year – 9.7%. Discussion: In examined group of patients significantly more abnormalities were detected in group of children under 1 year. Taking sex to consideration, major percentage of anomalies were found in girls. Big group constituted patients with renal dilatation and patients with double kidneys. One of conducted exam detected abdominal tumour that didn’t show any symptoms. Summation: It is reasonable to use the abdominal ultrasound in children as a screening test in their early years, because it helps to diagnose a variety of conditions and congenital disorders that unfold furtively and don’t show any symptoms.