Radiological findings in children with acute pneumonia: age more important than infectious agent.

Purpose: To evaluate whether radiological findings and healing time in children with pneumonia are correlated to etiologic agent.

Material And Methods: A total of 346 children with radiologically verified acute pneumonia, and with accomplished serological tests for bacteria and viruses, were included in the study. Five etiological groups were analysed: children with bacterial etiology only, with viral etiology only, with mixed bacterial and viral etiology, with Mycoplasma only, and children with no etiology.

Estimating the effective dose to children undergoing heart investigations--a phantom study.

The aim of the investigation was to assess the conversion factor (F) for derivation of effective dose from measured dose-area product (DAP) during radiological examination of congenital heart diseases. Two anthropomorphic phantoms corresponding to a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old child were irradiated at several projections to imitate irradiation conditions at heart examinations. Organ doses were measured using thermoluminescent dosimeters for calculation of mean organ doses and effective dose according to ICRP.

Diagnosis of intracranial lesions in very-low-birthweight infants by ultrasound: incidence and association with potential risk factors.

This study was designed to determine the frequencies of germinal matrix and ventricular haemorrhages as well as lesions in the white matter diagnosed by ultrasonography. In subsequent studies the effects of perinatal brain lesions on the cognitive and motor development of preterm children will be presented. Lesions of the white matter are probably more damaging than intraventricular and subependymal bleeds.

Comparison of absorbed radiation doses in barium and air enema reduction of intussusception: a phantom study.

Objective: We assessed the relative radiation load in patients undergoing hydrostatic and pneumatic reduction of childhood intussusception.

Materials And Methods: In a phantom study we simulated two situations occurring during reduction of intussusception. The absorbed radiation dose was measured at several positions in the phantom using either barium sulphate (BaSO4) or air in the simulated reduction, combined with either automatic exposure control (AEC) or constant exposure rate (CER) at fluoroscopy.

Nondisplaced and minimally displaced fractures of the lateral humeral condyle in children: a prospective radiographic investigation of fracture stability.

Subsequent displacement of nondisplaced or minimally displaced fractures of the lateral humeral condyle while immobilized in plaster may contribute to severe complications. The possibility of assessing the stability of such fractures may be a help in planning the initial treatment. Our prospective investigation of 112 children aged 1-11 years aimed at describing radiographic criteria for prognosticating the stability of the fractures.

Radiographic patterns and viral studies in childhood pneumonia at various ages.

We aimed at evaluating the relationship between microbial etiology and chest radiograph appearance in various types of pneumonia. In a prospective study, the radiographic findings in 479 cases of acute pneumonia in children were compared with viral etiology and growth of potential bacterial pathogens in nasopharyngeal secretion. As the basis for viral etiology was most conclusive, the material was here classified according to the viral findings.

Radiation exposure to children in diagnosing and at hydrostatic reduction of intussusception.

The energy imparted to the children in diagnosing and hydrostatic reduction of intussusception was measured in 45 children by means of an area-dose measurement device and the mean absorbed dose was estimated. The device was provided with data on tube kVp, mAs and shutter positions and the results were presented as dGy x cm2. The device had been calibrated against a 30 cm3 ionisation chamber at the relevant kVp range.

Image quality and safety in pediatric urography using an ionic and a non-ionic iodinated contrast agent.

The safety and diagnostic efficacy of the new non-ionic, monomeric contrast medium iopentol (Imagopaque) were evaluated and compared with those of the ionic medium metrizoate (Isopaque), in urography in children in a randomized, double-blind, parallel study. The trial comprised 59 children aged from 3 months to 8 years; children with predefined risk factors were not included. The difference in attenuation between the renal and perirenal tissue, assessed from film density measurements, was chosen as the main variable.

Correlations between radiological and cytological findings in early development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Sequential chest radiographs from 40 newborn infants requiring assisted ventilation for respiratory distress syndrome or other conditions were evaluated with a new scoring system aiming at identifying abnormal expansion patterns and interstitial infiltrates representing an early stage of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Age at examination ranged from 3 to 23 days. Tracheal effluent samples obtained from the babies during the same period of observation were examined cytologically for evidence of regenerating airway epithelium with squamous metaplasia, indicating BPD.

Contrast medium injected into juvenile bone cysts to analyze interior morphology and guide intracavity corticosteroid treatment.

In connection with treating juvenile bone cysts with intracavital corticosteroid injections, the interior cyst anatomy was analyzed at cystography in 13 children aged 4 to 15 years. Only 4 children had a true unicameral cyst; the others had 2 or more cysts or had compartments with free or restricted communication to the main cyst. Cysts and compartments which had not been reached by steroids may continue to grow.

Left-side dominance of upper extremity fracture in children.

In 148 children who had sustained trauma to the upper extremities from falls, fractures were twice as common on the left as on the right side. This seemed to be due to the childrens' preferential use of the left hand to parry the fall even when both hands were free and because the left arm seemed to be more easily broken than the right arm during trauma.

The value of neonatal serum thyroglobulin determinations in the follow-up of patients with congenital hypothyroidism.

Serum thyroglobulin was determined in 68 newborn infants with positive screening tests for congenital hypothyroidism. In 38 infants the diagnosis was confirmed (patients), but the remaining 30 were euthyroid at follow-up (controls). The mean thyroglobulin concentration at the age of 2 weeks did not differ significantly between the patients and the controls (179 vs.

The role of bone scintigraphy in predicting femoral head collapse following cervical fractures in children.

Bone scintigraphy was performed before or after osteosynthesis or both in 11 children aged 9 to 14 years with femoral neck fractures. The role of bone scintigraphy in predicting development of femoral head necrosis with subsequent collapse was studied. Scintigraphy was not a useful study for this purpose.

Neonatal skeletal maturation in congenital hypothyroidism and its prognostic value for psychomotor development at 3 years in patients treated early.

Neonatal skeletal maturation was assessed by different methods based on the bone centres in the knee and ankle region in 46 infants with true-positive (patients) and 17 infants with false-positive screening tests (controls). The patients and controls did not differ in mean age at X-ray examination and age at the start of treatment (14.5 +/- 5.

Considerations in the corticosteroid treatment of bone cysts.

To be effective in treating bone cysts, intracavital injections of corticosteroids must be able to run freely over their lining membrane. Free movement may be prevented by complete or partial osseous or fibrous septa or by the cyst contents. This report illustrates such situations.

Lung function eight years after neonatal ventilation.

Forty children who had had artificial ventilation during the neonatal period were studied at the age of 8-10 years with spirometry, the nitrogen washout test, bicycle exercise test, pulse oximetry, electrocardiogram, vectorcardiogram, and chest radiography. The median gestational age at birth was 29 weeks, and the median birth weight was 1310 g. Hyaline membrane disease was the indication for neonatal ventilation in 25 children.

Potential of early chest roentgen examination in ventilator treated newborn infants to predict future lung function and disease.

The potentially of early chest X-ray to predict the risk of lung function abnormalities was studied prospectively in 40 preterm ventilator treated infants in a 8-10-year follow-up investigation. According to the findings at chest X-ray 3 to 10 days after completed ventilator treatment the infants were divided into 3 groups considered to represent increasing risk and severity of lung damage: 1) normal findings, 2) interstitial parenchymal abnormalities exclusively or 3) in combination with local or general hyperinflation. Lung function tests and chest x-ray were performed at the age of 8 to 10 years.

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis in children. A roentgenologic and scintigraphic investigation.

Thirty cases of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis have been reported in the literature. A radiologic evaluation of thirty-one additional cases, 25 of whom also underwent bone scintigraphy, is presented. Bone biopsy specimens were obtained in 16 patients.

Prediction of the stability of minimally displaced fractures of the lateral humeral condyle.

Fractures of the lateral humeral condyle run a great risk of subsequent displacement. This is also true--although to a lesser extent--for primarily non-displaced or minimally displaced (less than or equal to 2 mm) fractures. The present retrospective investigation aimed at defining radiographic criteria in order to predict the stability of non-displaced or minimally displaced fractures in 159 children.

Ultrasonography of the kidney following renal biopsy in children.

The frequency of renal and perirenal hematomas following percutaneous renal biopsy using a cutting needle was studied by means of ultrasonography in 30 children and young adults aged 3-16 years. Hematomas occurred in 64.5 percent of the biopsies but caused significant clinical symptoms in one patient only.

Scintigraphic evaluation of traumatic splenic lesions in children.

Ninety-eight children with recent blunt abdominal trauma which initially evoked clinical suspicion of splenic injury were examined with colloid scintigraphy of the spleen and the liver using multiple imaging views and with abdominal survey. Nineteen children were, in addition, examined with tomographic scintigraphy. The clinical findings and the course of the disorder were reanalyzed.

Severe neonatal respiratory distress syndrome treated with the isolated phospholipid fraction of natural surfactant.

Ten newborn infants (795-1680 g) with severe respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were treated with the isolated phospholipid fraction of bovine or porcine surfactant, which was administered via the airways (dose 200 mg/kg), at a median age of 10.5 h. Before receiving surfactant, all the infants were on artificial ventilation (FiO2 0.

Radiologic observations in severe neonatal respiratory distress syndrome treated with the isolated phospholipid fraction of natural surfactant.

Ten newborn babies with severe respiratory distress syndrome, all dependent on artificial ventilation, were treated via the airways with the isolated phospholipid fraction of bovine or porcine surfactant. After treatment with surfactant at a median age of 10.5 h, there was in all patients a striking improvement of lung aeration in chest films, with a decrease in parenchymal fluid retention and in distension of bronchioli.