Open AccessPediatric encephalic ultrasonography: the essentials
Author(s) -
Valerio Vitale,
Eugenio Rossi,
Marco Di Serafino,
Rocco Minelli,
Ciro Acampora,
Francesca Iacobellis,
Chiara D’Errico,
A Esposito,
Francesco Esposito,
Gianfranco Vallone,
Massimo Zeccolini
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1971-3495
pISSN - 1876-7931
DOI - 10.1007/s40477-018-0349-7
Subject(s) - medicine , ultrasonography , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , neuroimaging , ultrasound , encephalopathy , computed tomography , psychiatry
Nowadays, cranial ultrasonography (US) of the newborn represents the first imaging method in brain damage study and its possible outcomes. This exam is performed using the natural fontanelles, especially the anterior one. It is fast, non-invasive and does not produce any side effect. Ultrasonographic examination is usually performed in cases of prematurity, especially in children with birth weight less than 1500 g, because important informations about the possible presence of pathologies such as cerebral hemorrhage and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy are given. This approach can be useful also in the study of pre- and post-natal infections, for example, type II Herpes Simplex virus or Cytomegalovirus infections, or pointing out vascular malformations such as vein of Galen aneurysm. Although less important than methods such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of trauma and tumors, ultrasound can provide useful informations or be used in first instance in the suspicion of a brain mass.