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Intracavitary contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in children: review with procedural recommendations and clinical applications from the European Society of Paediatric Radiology abdominal imaging task force

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Abstract

Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (US) has become an important supplementary tool in many clinical applications in children. Contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography and intravenous US contrast agents have proved useful in routine clinical practice. Other applications of intracavitary contrast-enhanced US, particularly in children, have not been widely investigated but could serve as a practical and radiation-free problem-solver in several clinical settings. Intracavitary contrast-enhanced US is a real-time imaging modality similar to fluoroscopy with iodinated contrast agent. The US contrast agent solution is administered into physiological or non-physiological body cavities. There is no definitive list of established indications for intracavitary US contrast agent application. However, intracavitary contrast-enhanced US can be used for many clinical applications. It offers excellent real-time spatial resolution and allows for a more accurate delineation of the cavity anatomy, including the internal architecture of complex collections and possible communications within the cavity or with the surrounding structures through fistulous tracts. It can provide valuable information related to the insertion of catheters and tubes, and identify related complications such as confirming the position and patency of a catheter and identifying causes for drainage dysfunction or leakage. Patency of the ureter and biliary ducts can be evaluated, too. US contrast agent solution can be administered orally or a via nasogastric tube, or as an enema to evaluate the gastrointestinal tract. In this review we present potential clinical applications and procedural and dose recommendations regarding intracavitary contrast-enhanced ultrasonography.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University Children’s Hospital,, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Bohoričeva 20, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Damjana Ključevšek

  2. Department of Radiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, University Hospital LKH Graz and Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria

    Michael Riccabona

  3. Division of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Paediatric Radiology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway

    Lil-Sofie Ording Müller

  4. Department of Pediatric Radiology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland

    Magdalena Maria Woźniak

  5. Service de Radiopédiatrie, Hôpital Bicêtre, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

    Stéphanie Franchi-Abella

  6. Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Kassa Darge

  7. Section of Pediatric Radiology, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology,, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany

    Hans-Joachim Mentzel

  8. Department of Radiology, Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Poole, UK

    Aikaterini Ntoulia

  9. Department of Pediatric Radiology, Jeanne de Flandre Hospital,, Lille University Hospitals, Lille, France

    Fred Efraim Avni

  10. Department of Pediatric Radiology and Neuroradiology,, V. Buzzi Children’s Hospital, Milan, Italy

    Marcello Napolitano

  11. Department of Radiology, Hospital de Santa Maria-CHLN, University Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luisa Lobo

  12. Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology,, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital Utrecht/UMCU, Utrecht, the Netherlands

    Annemieke Simone Littooij

  13. Department of Radiology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Thomas Angell Augdal

  14. Radiology Institute, Department of Radiology, AOUI, Verona, Italy

    Costanza Bruno

  15. Department of Radiology, Instituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy

    Beatrice Maria Damasio

  16. Radiology Department, Silhouette Diagnostic Consultants,, Wuse 2, Abuja, Nigeria

    Donald Ibe

  17. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar

    Samuel Stafrace

  18. Service d’Imagerie Pédiatrique et Prénatale, Hôpital Timone Enfants, Marseille, France

    Philippe Petit

Authors
  1. Damjana Ključevšek
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  2. Michael Riccabona
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  4. Magdalena Maria Woźniak
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  8. Aikaterini Ntoulia
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  11. Luisa Lobo
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  12. Annemieke Simone Littooij
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  13. Thomas Angell Augdal
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  14. Costanza Bruno
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  16. Donald Ibe
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  17. Samuel Stafrace
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  18. Philippe Petit
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Correspondence to Damjana Ključevšek.

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Ključevšek, D., Riccabona, M., Ording Müller, LS. et al. Intracavitary contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in children: review with procedural recommendations and clinical applications from the European Society of Paediatric Radiology abdominal imaging task force. Pediatr Radiol 50, 596–606 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-019-04611-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-019-04611-1

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