Neonatologist-performed point-of-care abdominal ultrasound: What have we learned so far?
Archana Priyadarshi, Sheryl Rogerson, Rommel Cruzado, Amanda L. Crow, Murray Hinder, Himanshu Popat, Soundappan SV Soundappan, Nadia Badawi, Mark Tracy
Abstract
This review describes the sonographic appearances of the neonatal bowel in Necrotising enterocolitis. It compares these findings to those seen in midgut-Volvulus, obstructive intestinal conditions such as milk-curd obstruction, and slow gut motility in preterm infants on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)-CPAP belly syndrome. Point-of-care bowel ultrasound is also helpful in ruling out severe and active intestinal conditions, reassuring clinicians when the diagnosis is unclear in a non-specific clinical presentation where NEC cannot be excluded. As NEC is a severe disease, it is often over-diagnosed, mainly due to a lack of reliable biomarkers and clinical presentation similar to sepsis in neonates. Thus, the assessment of the bowel in real-time would allow clinicians to determine the timing of re-initiation of feeds and would also be reassuring based on specific typical bowel characteristics visualised on the ultrasound.