Ultrasonography in predicting and screening liver cirrhosis in children: a preliminary study.

Aim: To evaluate the value of ultrasonography in predicting and screening liver cirrhosis in children.

Methods: Twenty-eight children with liver cirrhosis of various etiologies were examined by routine ultrasonography. A percutaneous liver biopsy guided by ultrasound was also performed on each patient, and the results of liver biopsy and ultrasonography were compared.

Results: When compared with the biopsy results, ultrasonography in combination of clinical and laboratory findings gave accurate diagnoses of children liver cirrhosis. Although ultrasound imaging of children with liver cirrhosis revealed abnormal characteristics, these images were not specific to this disease, thus reinforcing the necessity of ultrasound-guided liver biopsy in the diagnosis of children liver cirrhosis.

Conclusion: Ultrasonography is reliable in the diagnosis of children liver cirrhosis, and its usefulness should be stressed in the screening and follow-up of high-risk pediatric patients.