Open AccessThe pediatric gastrointestinal tract: ultrasound findings in acute diseases
Author(s) -
Francesco Esposito,
Marco Di Serafino,
Carmela Mercogliano,
Dolores Ferrara,
Norberto Vezzali,
Giovanni Di Nardo,
Luigi Martemucci,
Gianfranco Vallone,
Massimo Zeccolini
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1971-3495
pISSN - 1876-7931
DOI - 10.1007/s40477-018-00355-0
Subject(s) - medicine , ultrasound , gastrointestinal tract , radiology , gastrointestinal pathology , pathology
The study of the gastrointestinal tract by imaging, particularly using ultrasound, is a required instrument for diagnosis of acute and chronic gastrointestinal pathologies in pediatric age. Actually, ultrasound plays an increasing role in the evaluation of gastrointestinal tract in neonatal and pediatric patients because of their small body habitus and the presence of less fat tissue in the abdominal wall and peritoneal cavity. Ultrasound has certain advantages, thanks to the new wide-spectrum frequency probes able to assess a detailed study of the morphological aspects and functional characteristics of bowel loops, adding a new dimension to the imaging of this body system. In this paper, we review anatomy, ultrasound technique and sonographic findings of bowel pathology frequently encountered in neonatal and pediatric emergency setting.