Abstract

PERLA, Enicar et al. Routine abdominal ecosonografic scan in children. Gen [online]. 2012, vol.66, n.2, pp.102-106. ISSN 0016-3503.

Abdominal ultrasound is important in the diagnosis and treatment of a large number of abdominal pathology. Abdominal pain is the main indication for ultrasound. It raises the possibility of diagnosing disorders and/or asymptomatic pathologies that may require early intervention. Objective: To determine the benefit of abdominal sonography in the routine pediatric evaluation. Methods: prospective and cross. Includes patients are randomly selected for abdominal ultrasound and distributed in two groups: Group A, children with gastrointestinal application indication for assessment and group B, children without gastrointestinal pathology. Informed consent is requested. Results: A total of 182 children, mean age 4.70 years (range 1 m-14 years), 92 males and 90 females. Of 131 children with gastrointestinal disease, group A, 32 (24.42%) had alterations to the ultrasound. Of these 17/32 (53.12%) with ultrasound findings in relation to the underlying disease being the most common liver disease (steatosis, hepatomegaly, periportal fibrosis), gallstones, changes in hollow viscera and gastroesophageal reflux; 15/32 (46.88%) were detected abnormalities not related to underlying disease, such as kidney disease, abdominal tumor, splenomegaly. Group B: 16/51 (31.37%) resulted with detected abnormalities in abdominal organs, biliary sludge, spleen, liver, renal and others. We found a significant difference between groups in relation to the discovery of ultrasound abnormalities unrelated to the complaint. The results allow to conclude that ultrasound is a sensitive tool that can be used in routine pediatric evaluation to detect changes in abdominal organs for early intervention and treatment.

Keywords : abdominal ultrasound; liver disease; renal disease; abdominal alteration.