The first method of the examination for suspected urolithiasis in children is ultrasound (US) diagnosis, allowing with the high accuracy to identify concrements of 5 mm or more, as hyperechoic signals in organs of the urinary system. However, the diagnostic accuracy is reduced in the presence of smaller stones, it can also be a lot of small structures, not associated with calculi. There are described ultrasound signs of the differentiation between the stones and not associated with them structures in the kidneys in children with various forms of pathology. A common feature of these structures is the absence of distal «shadow» in the study, even in examination with the help of high-frequency transducers. There are also shown some artifacts of both vascular and non-vascular origin which in the case of a small size resemble concrements. Therefore it is possible to use color Doppler. The authors emphasize the importance of other research methods, indicating that the data of the ultrasound examination results are inconclusive. An alternative method is computed tomography of kidneys.
Currently, the method of ultrasound diagnostics (echography) is the leading one among other imaging tools in medicine. The history of the method begins in 1942, but the main developments should be attributed to the 1950-1960s, when owing to the first ultrasound machines created in various countries, the fundamental possibility of visualizing tissue structures of various organs in normal and in various forms of pathology was proved. Since the 1970s, the solution of technical problems has led to the creation of ultrasound systems close to modern types of equipment. In the same years, ultrasound examinations for the first time began to be effectively used in the Research Institute of Pediatrics of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, where they took a worthy place among other diagnostic methods. For the first time, ultrasound techniques of various organs were developed, their normal age characteristics were established, the possibilities in the diagnosis of many forms of pathology were proved and the criteria for their differential diagnosis were determined. But at the same time, despite the significant diagnostic potential of ultrasound diagnostics, we must not forget about the sufficient subjectivity of the method, which requires special attention and knowledge when obtaining and interpreting echographic images. The newest ultrasound methods that have appeared in recent years include three- and four-dimensional echography, ultrasound tomography, the possibility of panoramic, contrast and intra-organ studies, pulse inversion harmonics, quantitative assessment of organ parenchyma, elastography, various variants of Doppler (including intravascular) methods.
The data of the examination of 73 children aged 1 to 18 years with mononucleosis of Epstein-Barr virus etiology are presented. The use of non-invasive quantitative assessment methodology of the parenchyma (Acoustic Structure Quantification) was shown to allow objectify the examination and to found that infectious mononucleosis in 1st Group patients with a minimum degree of diffuse changes of the liver proceeded without structural changes in the liver parenchyma. In the 2nd group patients the estimation of density index according to Acoustic Structure Quantification allowed to reveal the signs of cholestasis. The heterogeneity of the structure of the liver and the elevation of the parenchymal density index indicated on signs of acute hepatitis and was confirmed by the increase in ALT level in blood serum. Despite the pronounced splenomegaly no structural changes in the spleen were found in any patients.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.