Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Education and training, Diagnostic procedure, Ultrasound, Paediatric
Authors:
M. Tovar Pérez, I. Vicente Zapata, P. Navarro, C. Fernández Hernández, C. Serrano Garcia, A. Gilabert Úbeda, C. Botía González, I. CASES SUSARTE, M. J. GAYÁN BELMONTE; Murcia/ES
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-0802
Background
Brain ultrasound is frequently used in the study of neuroanatomy and pathology of the neonatal brain.
It is the first technique to study the short- and long-term complications of premature newborns and is very useful to address multiple clinical situations.
It allows selecting which patients will benefit from other invasive techniques,
more expensive or requiring sedation,
such as the magnetic resonance.
It does not emit ionizing radiations.
Besides,
it is a widely available and a low-cost technique.
However,
it is operator dependent and needs for an adequate acoustic window.
It also has limitations in the study of obstetric traumatic pathology,
the assessment of the complex brain malformation pathology and the damage of the white matter.
Nevertheless,
with the basic knowledge of neonatal brain neurology,
the appropriate equipment and a careful technique that includes the use of different fontanelles,
brain ultrasound becomes a reliable method that allows the diagnosis and monitoring of both congenital and acquired pathologies in the newborn.