Ultrasound examination of the body is a completely harmless procedure that can be prescribed to babies from birth. The child will certainly get an ultrasound of the abdominal organs when he turns a month old. This type of examination helps to identify congenital anomalies, as well as to recognize the beginning of pathological processes. The procedure is completely painless and lasts about 20 minutes. Of great importance here is the initial stage. How to prepare for ultrasound of the abdominal cavity of the child? Let us consider this issue in more detail in this article.
Is it safe to do an ultrasound scan for a child?
Let's dwell on this in more detail. Many young parents worry that abdominal ultrasound of the baby can be harmful. A lot of scientific research has been devoted to this issue. Today, experts say with full confidence that this method is completely harmless to the child compared to other types of examinations, such as fluorography, MRI and CT. There is no radiation exposure during ultrasound examination.
Ultrasonic radiation has nothing to do with radiation. It has a completely different nature. These are simple high frequency acoustic vibrations that occur in the range from 1 to 12 MHz. The human ear does not perceive them. However, ultrasound is present in the noise created by the surf, winds and sounds made by some animals. The procedure itself will not cause any discomfort to the child. It is usually performed in a relaxed atmosphere, which is also of great importance.
Indications
This issue should be given special importance. Ultrasound of the abdominal organs is prescribed to children as planned. However, in some cases, the doctor may send for an additional examination and after a simple examination. The pediatrician or gastroenterologist writes out the direction for ultrasound. What are the main indications for this kind of examination?
It is worth highlighting the following:
- Routine examinations of babies under the age of 1.5 months. Such examinations help to rule out congenital developmental pathologies, as well as identify many diseases at an early stage.
- Complaints of painful or discomfort during palpation.
- Increased gas formation.
- Pain in the back and abdomen of a pulling or cutting character.
- Bitterness in the mouth.
- Nausea.
- Heaviness in the stomach.
- The appearance of jaundice on the whites of the eyes and skin.
- Constant disturbances in normal stool.
- A sharp change in body weight.
- The appearance of a rash on the skin.
Where can a child do abdominal ultrasound? This procedure is performed both in public hospitals and clinics, as well as in private medical centers.
What can be revealed by examination?
Ultrasound of the abdominal organs of the child is usually done in order to examine the liver, spleen, gall bladder or pancreas. The doctor conducting the procedure will definitely decipher the results taking into account the individual characteristics of the body and normal indicators. In some cases, an ultrasound examination of the kidneys may be performed separately.
In addition to congenital anomalies, ultrasound helps to determine pathological changes in the abdominal organs.
These include:
- Infectious mononucleosis;
- internal bleeding;
- blood diseases.
Violations of this type can be indicated by enlarged internal organs, neoplasms, cysts and abscesses. Ultrasound also helps to detect the presence of harmful microorganisms in the tissues of the liver. Using ultrasound, you can diagnose a pancreatic disease such as reactive pancreatitis. It usually appears in infants.
Using ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs, it is possible to determine deviations in the motility of the gallbladder, cholecystitis, pyelonephritis, cysts and other formations. Most paid clinics today offer an ultrasound procedure of internal organs with the use of Doppler. This examination allows you to identify congenital defects of the kidneys.
Getting ready to research
So how to do it right? In order for the ultrasound examination to show reliable results, you need to be well prepared for the procedure. This stage begins 3-5 days before the planned examination. The main requirement is to ensure the acoustic accessibility of all the organs studied. This means that the child should not have air, gas or food debris in his stomach. In addition, during digestion, the internal organs of the baby increase naturally. Therefore, during the scanning process, this may prevent the specialist from correctly determining the state of one or another organ. How to prepare a child for ultrasound of the abdomen and kidneys?
There are a few simple rules:
- If the procedure has to go through the newborn, the child should not be fed three hours before the examination.
- Ultrasound is best done in the morning, when the baby is not yet hungry enough.
- When preparing for ultrasound, children from 1 to 3 years old are recommended to skip one feeding.
- One hour before the procedure, liquid intake should be excluded.
- So that the child does not act up, it is allowed to give him a small amount of slightly sweetened water.
- Children over three years old are also not afraid of a small hunger strike.
- Ultrasound is usually done in the morning or afternoon. The main requirement is that the last meal take place 6-8 hours before the ultrasound examination.
- If the child suffers from increased gas formation, then within a few days it is recommended to start taking Espumisan. This remedy will help eliminate the symptoms of flatulence.
- Before the examination, the intestinal tract should be empty. To do this, it is recommended 12 hours before the procedure to put an enema.
Diet
How to prepare for ultrasound of the abdominal cavity of the child? Many experts advise starting a training course a few days before the examination. For this purpose, a dietary course is carried out. The main objective of the diet is the exclusion from the diet of any foods that can cause increased gas formation. The list of dishes for each child is made taking into account individual characteristics. However, there are a number of generally accepted prohibitions.
So, for example, from the diet for several days should be completely excluded:
- dairy and dairy products;
- fresh vegetables and fruits;
- bakery products;
- legumes;
- fatty meat and fish;
- carbonated drinks;
- sweets and candies.
During the preparation for the procedure, the basis of the child’s diet should be cereals, poultry, boiled eggs, cheese and low-fat fish. On the day of the study, children should not be given any medications. Particular attention should be paid to taking stimulants of the liver and pancreas, as well as the use of antispasmodic drugs.
How is the diagnosis carried out?
Is it possible to conduct abdominal ultrasound in children? How do this procedure for infants? An ultrasound examination is carried out by the transabdominal method. The specialist conducting the procedure, applies a special gel to the skin of the child. After that, it begins to drive along the surface of the abdomen with a special sensor. In time, the procedure takes no longer than 20 minutes. The doctor may turn the child on his back. Older children are still usually asked to inflate their stomach, hold their breath, stand up, take a deep breath. The main task of parents in the examination process is to reassure the child. Try to explain to the baby that it will not hurt. As for clothes, here it is better to choose things of a free cut in which it is easy to open the stomach.
Decryption
What is the main thing when performing ultrasound of the abdominal organs in children? The specialist must correctly interpret the results of the examination. Usually, after an ultrasound scan, adults are given a transcript in their hands. In some cases, the doctor attaches it to an outpatient card. A gastroenterologist or pediatrician who gave you a referral for examination can analyze the data.
How to read abdominal ultrasound in a child? What does this study show? The purpose of ultrasound is to determine the following indicators:
- When examining the liver - parameters of the lobes, structural structure, size of the portal vein and bile duct, echogenicity.
- In the study of the spleen, special attention is paid to uniform differences and structurality.
- With ultrasound of the pancreas - in addition to matching sizes, the presence of formations in the cells of the tissue and ducts is also checked.
- The gall bladder is examined for wall thickness, shape differences and sizes.
- For the paired organ, in addition to the parameters, the structure and the presence of calculi in it are also studied.
What is considered the norm?
This is a condition when all organs have the usual sizes and shapes, without the proliferation of tissues and stones, cysts, neoplasms and fluids. The diameter of all vessels should also remain within normal limits. The specialist must also check the condition of the bile ducts and the outflow of urine. Doctors do not recommend parents to independently try to decipher ultrasound examination. The problem is that in normal conditions in children and adults, the indications of ultrasound of the abdominal organs can vary greatly. And in young patients, indicators can vary depending on age. What is considered normal for an infant will be considered a pathology in an older child.
Ultrasound examination often allows you to diagnose abnormalities in the development of organs, which can normalize with age. In addition, non-standard forms of internal organs are an individual feature of the child’s body and do not prevent him from leading a normal life.
Features of ultrasound of the kidneys
Ultrasound examination allows you to determine such pathologies as pyelonephritis, the presence of sand and kidney stones, an abscess, narrowing of the urinary tract, kidney enlargement, inflammation of the mucous membranes, tumors, cysts, and so on. Timely detected disease allows adequate treatment and significantly increase the chances of recovery.
Kidney study preparation
The most difficult is to conduct an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity of the baby. Preparation allows you to achieve more reliable and accurate results. Half an hour before the study, you need to give the child a certain amount of fluid. The volume will depend on the age of the baby. It is best to use still water or unsweetened tea for this purpose. Such preparation will help to improve visualization of organs. Filling the bladder helps to straighten its folds and thereby improve the quality of the examination. The liquid also improves the conductivity of ultrasound, which allows you to study all the structures of the organs.
Conclusion
Ultrasound helps to diagnose various pathologies and diseases in time. If you know how to prepare for ultrasound of the abdominal cavity of the child, then the results of the examination will be informative.