Accuracy of Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Abdominal Pain among Children

Abstract

Abdomen pain is a medical emergency, in which there is sudden and severe pain in abdomen of recent onset with accompanying signs and symptoms that focus on an abdominal involvement. It can represent a wide spectrum of conditions, ranging from a benign and self-limiting disease to a surgical emergency. The integrated imaging, and in particular the use of ultrasonography has revolutionized the clinical approach to this condition, simplifying the diagnosis but burdening the radiologists with the problems related to the clinical management. A paediatric abdominal ultrasound is an examination of the abdomen with an ultrasound machine that uses sound waves to form images of different organs within the child’s body. Abdominal ultrasound studies are most commonly performed to investigate the causes of abdominal pain or whether there is a mass of tissue or “lump”.