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Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) for Children

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Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound in Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery

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Abstract

Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a promising new technique, which offers cost-effective real-time imaging without ionizing radiation or the need for sedation. Contrast agents contain phospholipid microbubbles filled with gas seen as echogenic dots on the ultrasound screen. Besides in echocardiography, CEUS is widely established in adults for differentiation of focal liver lesions and monitoring of tumor response to chemotherapy through parenchymal perfusion and enhancement dynamics. Despite their favorable safety profile, no ultrasound contrast agent has been approved for use in children and has to be used off-label. In Europe, many pediatric centers have implemented contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography as their routine study for evaluation of vesicoureteral reflux. Despite promising initial results, other applications such as characterization of focal liver lesions, solid organ injuries in abdominal trauma, and abdominal or pelvic solid tumors have been limited to few pediatric centers. Pediatric experts and societies are calling for collaboration and accumulation of safety data in central registries as well as multicenter studies to minimize the delay of introduction of this promising technique into routine clinical practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, One Children’s Hospital Drive, 4401 Penn Avenue, 15224, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Asst. Prof. Stefan Scholz MD, FACS, FAAP

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  1. Asst. Prof. Stefan Scholz MD, FACS, FAAP
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Correspondence to Stefan Scholz MD, FACS, FAAP .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric General & Thoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stefan Scholz

  2. Section of Pediatric Surgery, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Marcus D. Jarboe

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Scholz, S. (2016). Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) for Children. In: Scholz, S., Jarboe, M. (eds) Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound in Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21699-7_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21699-7_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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