Two hundred healthy children aged 3-18 years were included in the study to determine liver stiffness indices by means of shear wave elastometry. The difference is significant when we compared shear wave velocity in children aged 3-6 years, on the one hand, and in children aged 7-18 years, on the other (p = 0.001). Liver stiffness indices in boys and girls were not different. As a result, liver stiffness indices in children in various age groups have been obtained, which can be recommended as normal ones for pediatric patients.

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The aim of the research was to study the stiffness of an unchanged thyroid gland using shear wave elastography with elastometry in children in different gender and age groups. 175 children with normal hormonal status aged from 3 to 17 were examined, 80 of them were girls and 95 boys. All children underwent ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland in the "supine" position of the examinees, supplemented by two-dimensional shear wave elastography on Aixplorer apparatus (Supersonic Imagine, France) using a linear sensor in the frequency range of 5-18 MHz. Five measurements of Young's modulus value of the right and left lobes of the thyroid gland were carried out. Using Multi Q-box software, the following values of Young's modulus (E) for each fraction were automatically determined: the mean (Emean), the maximum (Emax), the minimum (Emin), the standard deviation (SD). The study established a statistically significant increase in thyroid stiffness values in children with increasing age, statistically significant differences in the stiffness of thyroid right and left lobes (p = 0.003), the absence of gender differences in thyroid stiffness (median Emean in boys – 7.40 kPa, in girls – 6.80 kPa; p = 0.170). The technique of shear wave elastography that is offered by the authors can become an additional diagnostic tool in assessing the condition of the thyroid gland in children. The established values of thyroid tissue stiffness in children of different age groups can be recommended to be used for the purpose of timely diagnosis of thyroid pathology.

During the period from 2009 to 2021, 93 patients aged 0–11 years (48 boys and 45 girls) with retroperitoneal tumors were treated. There were 66 patients with nephroblastoma and 27 patients with adrenal neuroblastoma among them. As per treatment strategies, the patients were separated into two groups: the control group and the study group. The control group (comparison) received therapy according to the protocols, whereas the study group consisted of patients who received photodynamic therapy (PDT) in addition to the standard treatment. The control group consists of 47 patients with retroperitoneal tumors, including 35 patients with nephroblastoma and 12 patients with adrenal neuroblastoma. The study group included 46 children: 31 patients with nephroblastoma and 15 patients with adrenal neuroblastoma. The 5-year survival rate in the control group was 74.5%, and it was 91.3% in the study group (p = 0.030). Recurrent tumors developed in 14.9% of the patients in the control group, while in the study group, relapse occurred in 8.7% of the patients (p = 0.357). The PDT used in this study for treatment of retroperitoneal tumors improves the results of surgical treatment. It also appreciably increases the survival rate of patients with retroperitoneal tumors. Overall, PDT is a hopeful antitumor approach and can be effectively used in the complex therapy of retroperitoneal tumors in children.

Introduction. Chronic liver diseases in children are accompanied by fibrocirrhotic transformation of the organ. Modern ultrasound diagnostic procedures offer a method that can differentiate between the fibrous and unchanged tissues. The paper includes the results of a study of liver stiffness in healthy children using shear wave elastography. The method presented in the article can come to an active use in the non-invasive detection of fibrosis as part of the integrated assessment of liver in pediatric practice. Aim. To study the stiffness of unchanged liver in children of different gender and age groups.Materials and methods. Shear wave elastography was performed in 200 healthy children aged 3 to 18 years (103 girls and 97 boys) using Aixplorer apparatus (Supersonic Imagine, France), in three age subgroups: a 3- to 6-year-old group (n = 103), a 7- to 11-year-old group (n = 52), and a 12- to 18-year-old group (n = 45). The measurements were taken in different segments of the right lobe of the liver, in the area free from the vascular structures, fixing the zone of scanning at the depth of 3-5 cm from the capsule. Not less than 10 measurements were made, which enabled to calculate the mean value of liver elasticity.Results. The study identified the liver stiffness measurement normal range in a group of healthy children. Significant differences in liver stiffness were obtained by comparing the values of 3- to 6- year-old and 7- to 11-year-old groups (P = 0.001); 3- to 6-year-old and 12- to 18-year-old groups (P = 0.001); there were no statistically significant differences in the stiffness values depending on gender (P = 0.345).Conclusions. Young modulus values obtained may be used as normative. The use of shear wave elastography enhances the accuracy of the conventional ultrasound examination in identifying patients with liver disease.