The Use of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) in the Evaluation of the Neonatal Brain.

In recent years, advancements in technology have allowed the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasounds (CEUS) with high-frequency transducers, which in turn, led to new possibilities in diagnosing a variety of diseases and conditions in the field of radiology, including neonatal brain imaging. CEUSs overcome some of the limitations of conventional ultrasounds (US) and Doppler USs. It allows the visualization of dynamic perfusion even in the smallest vessels in the whole brain and allows the quantitative analysis of perfusion parameters. An increasing number of articles are published on the topic of the use of CEUSs on children each year. In the area of brain imaging, the CEUS has already proven to be useful in cases with clinical indications, such as hypoxic-ischemic injuries, stroke, intracranial hemorrhages, vascular anomalies, brain tumors, and infections. We present and discuss the basic principles of the CEUS and its safety considerations, the examination protocol for imaging the neonatal brain, and current and emerging clinical applications.

Ultrasound-guided hydrostatic reduction of intussusception: comparison of success rates between subspecialized pediatric radiologists and non-pediatric radiologists or radiology residents.

Ileocolic intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children under two years of age. Treatment in most cases is radiologically guided reduction. In Slovenia, ultrasound (US)-guided hydrostatic reduction is currently the standard of care. The purpose of this study was to compare the success rate of US-guided hydrostatic reduction when performed by subspecialty-trained pediatric radiologists, non-pediatric radiologists, or radiology residents. We retrospectively analyzed medical records of patients with ileocolic intussusception who underwent US-guided hydrostatic intussusception reduction at University Medical Centre Ljubljana between January 2012 and December 2022 (n = 101). During regular daily working hours, the reduction was performed by pediatric radiologists. After hours (evenings and overnight), pediatric radiologists, non-pediatric radiologists, or radiology residents performed the reduction procedure. Patients were divided into three groups based on the operator performing the procedure. Data was analyzed using the chi-square test. Pediatric radiologists had thirty-seven (75.5%) successful first attempts, non-pediatric radiologists had nineteen (76.0%), and radiology residents had twenty (74.1%). There was no statistically significant difference in the success rate of ileocolic intussusception reduction depending on the operator who performed the procedure (p = 0.98). No perforation was observed in either group during the reduction attempts.  Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that US-guided hydrostatic reduction is a reliable and safe procedure that achieves good results even in the hands of less experienced, however appropriately trained, radiologists. The results should encourage more medical centers to consider the implementation of US-guided hydrostatic reduction of ileocolic intussusception. What is Known: • US-guided hydrostatic reduction is a well-established method of treatment for ileocolic intussusception in children. • The results regarding the influence of operator's experience with the procedure on its success rate are scarce and contradictory. What is New: • US-guided hydrostatic intussusception reduction is a reliable and safe technique that achieves similar success rates when performed by experienced subspecialized pediatric radiologists or less experienced but trained operators such as non-pediatric radiologists and radiology residents. • The implementation of US-guided hydrostatic reduction in general hospitals without subspecialized pediatric radiologists could improve patient care by increasing access to radiologically guided reduction and simultaneously decreasing the time to reduction attempts.

Necessity of Routine Chest Radiograph Following Chest Tube Removal in Pediatric Patients After Cardiovascular Surgery.

PURPOSE: Chest tube placement and subsequent removal is a routine step in patient management after cardiovascular surgery. The purpose of this retrospective study is to determine the necessity of routine chest radiography following chest tube removal in order to detect potential complications in pediatric patients after cardiovascular surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital records of all consecutive children up to 5 years of age who had cardiovascular surgery at our hospital between January 2015 and December 2020. Two radiologists independently evaluated routine chest radiographs performed 4 hours following chest tube removal for the presence of potential complications. In all post chest tube removal chest radiographs that demonstrated a complication, the patient's medical record was investigated in order to determine if there was an associated clinical or laboratory test abnormality, and if the radiographically detected complication led to a change in patient management. Inter-rater agreement between the 2 reviewers was evaluated with κ statistics. RESULTS: We identified 147 children (73 [49.7%] male and 74 [50.3%] female; mean age=13.8 mo old; range 0 to 60 mo) who met the inclusion criteria. Complications were detected on routine chest radiograph after chest tube removal in 10 patients (6.8%) including pneumothorax (n=5, 3.4%), pleural effusion (n=3, 2%), pneumomediastinum (n=1, 0.7%), and pneumopericardium (n=1, 0.7%). No clinical or laboratory abnormalities were present in all children affected with radiographically detected complications on routine chest radiograph 4 hours after chest tube removal, and there was no need for intervention in any affected patients. There was high inter-rater κ agreement between the 2 independent reviewers for detecting complications on chest radiographs after chest tube removal (κ=0.94). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that routine chest radiograph performed shortly after chest tube removal may not be necessary for the safe management of asymptomatic children after cardiovascular surgery because complications are rare and do not require intervention. In addition, obviating performance of this routine chest radiograph following chest tube removal will lead to a substantial decrease in exposure to unnecessary ionizing radiation in children who undergo frequent radiographs and lower medical costs.

Reliability of haemophilia early arthropathy detection with ultrasound (HEAD-US) in children: a comparative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound (US) has been proven to be reliable in the assessment of early haemophilic arthropathy in the adult haemophilic population, however few studies so far focused on the reliability of US specifically in the paediatric haemophilic population. We were interested if the changing appearance of the growing bone hinders the ultrasonographic evaluation of the pathologic processes caused by haemophilic arthropathy. The aim of the study was to assess the reliability of US for evaluation of haemophilic arthropathy in children in comparison to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included all children aged 6 years or more with severe haemophilia in the country (n = 10). We assessed their elbows, knees, and ankles bilaterally by US and compared the results to the MRI as the reference standard. Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to analyse correlation. RESULTS: The correlation with MRI for the US for the total score was excellent for all joints (r = 0.849 for the elbows, r = 1 for knees, r = 0.842 for ankles). The correlation of scores for specific joint components showed fair, moderate, or excellent correlation for all joint components in all joints. The correlation was the lowest for the evaluation of cartilage and bone in the ankles (r = 0.546 and r = 0.478) and bone in the elbows (r = 0.499). CONCLUSIONS: Our study proved that US using the HEAD-US method performed by paediatric radiologists is a reliable tool for detection and quantification of haemophilic arthropathy in children in comparison to MRI.

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) as an Ancillary Imaging Test for Confirmation of Brain Death in an Infant: A Case Report.

The practices for determining brain death are based on clinical criteria and vary immensely across countries. Cerebral angiography and perfusion scintigraphy are the most commonly used ancillary imaging tests for brain death confirmation in children; however, they both share similar shortcomings. Hence, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as a relatively inexpensive, easily accessible, and easy-to-perform technique has been proposed as an ancillary imaging test for brain death confirmation. CEUS has established itself as a favourable and widely used diagnostic imaging method in many different areas, but its application in delineating brain pathologies still necessities further validation. Herein, we present a case report of a 1-year-old polytraumatised patient in whom CEUS was applied as an ancillary imaging test for confirmation of brain death. As CEUS has not been validated as an ancillary test for brain death confirmation, the diagnosis was additionally confirmed with cerebral perfusion scintigraphy.