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Published in: Pediatric Radiology 4/2020

Open Access 01-04-2020 | Ultrasound | Original Article

Bowel ultrasound measurements in healthy children — systematic review and meta-analysis

Authors: Elsa A. van Wassenaer, Floris A. E. de Voogd, Rick R. van Rijn, Johanna H. van der Lee, Merit M. Tabbers, Faridi S. van Etten-Jamaludin, Angelika Kindermann, Tim G. J. de Meij, K. B. Gecse, Geert R. D’Haens, Marc A. Benninga, Bart G. P. Koot

Published in: Pediatric Radiology | Issue 4/2020

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Abstract

Background

Ultrasound (US) is a noninvasive method of assessing the bowel that can be used to screen for bowel pathology, such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, in children. Knowledge about US findings of the bowel in healthy children is important for interpreting US results in cases where disease is suspected.

Objective

To assess the bowel wall thickness in different bowel segments in healthy children and to assess differences in bowel wall thickness among pediatric age categories.

Materials and methods

We conducted a systematic search in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases for studies describing bowel wall thickness measured by transabdominal US in healthy children. We excluded studies using contrast agent. We calculated the pooled mean and standard deviation scores and assessed differences among age categories (0–4 years, 5–9 years, 10–14 years, 15–18 years), first with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and further with subsequent Student’s t-tests for independent samples, corrected for multiple testing.

Results

We identified 191 studies and included 7 of these studies in the systematic review. Reported bowel wall thickness values ranged from 0.8 mm to 1.9 mm in the small bowel and from 1.0 mm to 1.9 mm in the colon. The mean colonic bowel wall thickness is larger in children ages 15–19 years compared to 0–4 years (range in difference: 0.3–0.5 mm [corrected P<0.02]).

Conclusion

The reported upper limit of bowel wall thickness in healthy children is 1.9 mm in the small bowel and the colon, and mean thickness increases slightly with age in jejunum and colon. These values can be used as guidance when screening for bowel-related pathology in children.
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Metadata
Title
Bowel ultrasound measurements in healthy children — systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors
Elsa A. van Wassenaer
Floris A. E. de Voogd
Rick R. van Rijn
Johanna H. van der Lee
Merit M. Tabbers
Faridi S. van Etten-Jamaludin
Angelika Kindermann
Tim G. J. de Meij
K. B. Gecse
Geert R. D’Haens
Marc A. Benninga
Bart G. P. Koot
Publication date
01-04-2020
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Pediatric Radiology / Issue 4/2020
Print ISSN: 0301-0449
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1998
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-019-04567-2

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