Ultrasound beats x-ray for finding pediatric GI obstructions

Sunday, November 26 | 12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m. | PD204-SD-SUA5 | Lakeside, PD Community, Station 5
Ultrasound did a better job than plain radiography of detecting the cause of gastrointestinal (GI) obstruction in children, according to researchers from the U.S. and Iran.

The group evaluated 48 children who had clinical suspicion of GI tract obstruction with both ultrasound and radiography. Of the patients, 27 were boys and 21 were girls, with a mean age of 14.02 months. A final diagnosis was made after surgical intervention in 40 patients and adequate follow-up in eight.

Ultrasound had sensitivity for confirming or excluding obstruction of 95%, compared with 87.2% for radiography; ultrasound's specificity was 100%, compared with 66.7% for x-ray. With respect to positive predictive value, ultrasound scored 100% and radiography reached 91.9%. Finally, ultrasound's negative predictive value was 80%, compared with 54.6% for radiography.

The researchers concluded that abdominal ultrasound is very accurate for diagnosing GI tract obstruction in children, and they recommended its use for this application.

Page 1 of 507
Next Page