Join now

Already a member? Sign in

Welcome to Inspire!

What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.

Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.

How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!

corner corner corner

ultrasound screening for children

marie3
0 Recommendations

Joyce,

You mentioned in the discussion about Crohns disease that ultrasounds are not a good method for detecting tumors in the abdomen, yet in the VHL handbook it is recommended annually for ages 11-19. I am not questioning you, but I am wondering why ultrasounds are used if they are not very reliable. My son is 8 years old, and his geneticist told me that he could start having abdominal ultrasounds, if I wanted him to. I never felt ultrasounds were very reliable. She stated that it is a very non-invasive easy test, so why not.

Marie

Explore topics in this discussion:

Pregnancy

9 replies

donnainflorida

When I went to NIH this past May, they had added an ultrasound of the abdomen, in addition to my usual cat scan of the abdomen. They told me they were trying to determine if the ultrasounds would be sufficient, since that is what they used in Europe. I have 3 tumors in my kidney. They knew exactly where they were from the cat scan but could not locate them on the ultrasound even though they knew where they should be. I think i will stick to the cat scans!

marie3

I agree, CT scans are the very best for screening abdomen and pelvis.

But.....CT scans are not recommended for children because of the radiation exposure. Anesthesia is necessary for MRIs, to prevent movement. The plasma free mets test only detects ACTIVE pheos.

How do we safely, and as well as accurately, screen our children?

Marie

kimbre

We had abdominal ultrasounds for our young boys and felt like it was a good test to have. I think it is especially worthwhile for children too young to have CAT scans done. I guess it truly doesn't reveal the detail that CAT's or MRI's provide, but it does show things. The way my kidney tumors were discovered was on ultrasound. They saw 3 tumors and were pretty close to the size described on my follow-up CT scan and MRI studies. I am thankful for the ultrasound- it was the reason my tumors were found during a screening for a pregnancy check-up. They have their value, but I was told that a Children's hospital needs to do the screenings for kids as opposed to adult facilities. Hope this helps!

joyceg98

I agree with all the answers above. Ultrasounds are recommended for children in order to avoid radiation and still have a modicum of information, so that if there is anything glaring there it would be found. If something is found to be suspicious, then CT or MRI would be used to follow up and get greater detail.

Yes, there are not considered ideal, but they are also getting progressively better. I am glad to see that NIH is re-evaluating their position on ultrasounds because they are definitely cheaper and could be used for screening (which means ASYMPTOMATIC CHECKING. If a problem is suspected, then CT or MRI are used to get greater detail.

Best wishes,
Joyce

marie3

Thanks Kim for your input. I feel most comfortable in a Children's Hospital as well. My son's screenings are all done at a Children's Hospital, except his eye exams. He sees my Ophthamologist. I wonder, if he ever needs fluoroscene, as in a fluoroscene angiography for his eyes, would he need a smaller dose (younger age/less body weight)? Could you overdose on a contrast dye? Should they inject less because he's a child? Would they know how much to inject because he is a child?

Marie

sunda1

I had an ultra sound of my abdomen done in May 06. The report indicated large multiple cysts ranging in size from 1-8cm’s. I arranged a CT scan through my wife at her place of work in mid July as I had a nagging feeling about the ultra sound. To my shock I was without my kidneys within 72 hours. The so called cysts were in actual fact encapsulated malignant tumours ranging from 3-14cm’s. Would I trust an ultrasound ever again the answer is absolutely not. I have been told that the newer 3D and 4D scans are more accurate but they still don’t come close to CT’s or MRI’s. What you should be looking for is a CT of the Thorax/Abdomen and Pelvis with and without contrast to establish a base line and then MRI’s from there on out to eliminate the radiation exposure of the CT.

joyceg98

Sunda1, before May 06, when was the previous test of your abdomen, by any means?

This is a good example of the fact that ultrasound does not give an accurate picture of what's happening, it's just the best inexpensive indicator we have available to let us know whether there is reason to delve deeper.

In this case, you did the right thing -- ultrasound showed something suspicious, CT and MRI follow-up gave the details needed to determine treatment.

What's missing in your story here, though, is what previous scanning was done? It sounds like nothing was found until these structures were already very large, which makes me wonder what testing went on previous to the scan in '06. If there were scans on a regular basis previous to '06 and nothing of interest was noted, that would definitely be a problem.

In the case of children, the risk of having kidney or pancreatic tumors is statistically very low. Given that, should we use an imperfect but safe test to check for anything worthy or further investigation? or should we use a test that involves significant expense and possibly also radiation?

Please note again that we are talking about SCREENING -- in the ABSENCE of symptoms. If there are symptoms, or reason to believe that we are going to find something, then of course MRI or CT should be used to get all the best detailed information.

Let's go back to Marie's original question. At 8 years old, in the absence of symptoms, the general SCREENING recommendation is to begin ultrasound scans of the abdomen, just to make sure there is nothing noteworthy. Odds are nothing of note will be found. The most likely thing would be a pheo, which is easier to find through blood chemistry than any scan.

See http://vhl.org/handbook/vhlhb4.php#Suggested

So as usual, there are no simple answers here. It's all a matter of trade-offs, balancing risk and benefit. Risk with Ultrasound is very low, cost is low, and it's not a scary test. If it finds anything suspicious, we will follow up.

In adults, the chance that something will be found is greater, so it makes sense to use the better test first.

I hope that helps.

Joyce

marie3

Joyce,

That makes alot of sense. But now I have another question. Can a child become ill (overdose) on a contrast dye if too much is injected? Does the Radiologist inject a specific amount depending on body weight? Recently, my hospital checks kidney function, through a blood test, prior to MRI.

Marie (worried mom)

joyceg98

I believe contrast dye is calculated based on body weight. The check for kidney function is to make sure that your kidneys are working correctly, so that they will clear the contrast dye out of your system in a timely manner. That's also why they tell you to drink lots of water after a scan, to push the contrast dye through and out.

It is not good to have the contrast dye hanging around in your system for too long. As long as your kidneys are working fine and you drink water, you should be just fine. However, if your kidney function is poor they may give you less contrast dye, or decline to use it altogether. This is to prevent a nasty complication from having the dye in your body too long.

I never heard of an overdose of contrast dye. There are some sensitivities to the various preparations, but the radiology department knows about these potential issues and will check your medical records or ask questions to make sure there will be no issues. If you have any other concerns, be sure to ask the radiologist or technician.

Best wishes,
Joyce

Add to the discussion

Don't have an Inspire account? Join now!

Forgot password?

Group leaders

You