VALUE OF BRAIN SONOGRAPHY IN NEWBORNS AND CHILDREN

Abstract

Intracranial changes of newborns and young children can easily be discovered by modern sonography, especially as long as fontanels are still open. Sonography of brain should be done before computed tomography [CT], encephalography and/or ventriculography are performed. Review of sonographic and CT findings supports reduction of CT investigations in favor of sonography. CT should not be the most important 1st investigation. Technical reasons such as thick skull or closed fontanels are making sonography impossible and CT should be used. Special examples from about 1100 sonograms of skulls of children demonstrate that sonography of newborns and children is the method, which is cheap, without risk, less time consuming, and without any radiation stress.