Abdominal Ultrasound for Pediatric Pain: A Safe Diagnostic Tool

Abdominal ultrasound is done when children have pain in the upper abdomen. Children often have difficulties expressing where their pain is located and what kind of pain they are having. For this reason, ultrasound is a good first step in the diagnostic process.

Safety

• There are no known harmful effects on the body from ultrasound imaging. It does not use harmful, ionizing radiation like that of X-rays or computed tomography (CT or CAT scans).

Patient Comfort

• The ultrasound room is dimly lit, and the sonographer is with the child at all times. Since ultrasound is a safe imaging modality, parents may sit with the child during the examination.

Visualization

• Children are much less likely than adults to have excess fat or bowel gas that interferes with visualization of the abdominal organs. For this reason, the ultrasound images are more likely to be clear and detailed.

Lymphoma

• Abdominal ultrasound is often used to aid in the diagnosis of lymphoma in children. The liver and spleen are easily seen using ultrasound and most often appear enlarged in the presence of lymphoma.

Noninvasive

• Contrast is not needed for abdominal ultrasound. For this reason, intravenous injections are not done.