Ultrasonography (US) is an important diagnostic tool in evaluating thyroid diseases in pediatric patients. This pictorial essay reviews the application of various ultrasound techniques such as B-Mode ultrasound and color Doppler, elastography and contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in children and adolescents in various thyroid pathologies including congenital thyroid abnormalities, diffuse thyroid diseases (DTD), focal thyroid lesions and thyroid malignancy.

Objective: Determine whether amniotic fluid volume (AFV) determination by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be compared with ultrasound based amniotic fluid index (AFI) and whether diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) of the fetal kidneys can be used as surrogate marker for the assessment of AFV and fetal kidney function. Methods:In the period from August 2013 to September 2014 prospective evaluation of AFV based on TRUFI MRI in 2 spatial planes (AFVMRI) and ultrasound based AFI. Inclusion criteria for the evaluation were: 1) Full image of the fetus (including AF and placenta) in an MR-study in at least two planes (sagittal and coronal), 2) Layer thickness 8 mm, 3) DWI-images of the fetal kidney in two planes (sagittal and transverse to the fetus). ROI analysis of the ADC values in normal kidneys and in pathological fetal kidneys (CAKUT) as well as the correlation of AFVMRI vs. AFI, renal volume and ADC were performed. Results:The correlation between AFI (13.60 ± 2.46 cm) and AFVMRI (579 ± 353 mL) was 0.69 (p=0.03). There was no significant correlation between AFVMRI and kidney volume, between AFVMRI and ADC700 and ADC800. The B700-ADC values of fetuses with CAKUT (n=14) were considerably higher than the values in fetuses with healthy kidneys. Conclusion:Compared to AFI, AFVMRI showed higher accuracy, but was associated with higher time consumption. Thus it cannot be routinely recommended for the purpose of AFV-determination alone. MRI can be used to establish a relationship between kidney diffusion parameters, renal volume, GA and AFV in fetuses with CAKUT.

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