Color Doppler Sonography used to treat premature infants with serious illness
Color Doppler sonography is now being used to detect necrotizing entercolitis (NEC), an acquired inflammatory gastrointestinal disease in premature infants. Radiologists are using a unique type of ultrasound in detecting this life-threatening problem by measuring blood flow to the intestines of newborns, according to a study in the May issue of the journal Radiology.
This type of treatment was tested from 2000-2002 at the University of Toronto by examining 30 infants suspected or proven to have NEC. The results of examinations using color Doppler sonography (CDS) against those using abdominal x-rays showed that the CDS results were a more sensitive and detailed, according to the study.
Additional benefits of CDS include its ability to show the severity of the NEC giving physicians more treatment options, it is non-invasive, and free of ionizing radiation, the study said.
This type of treatment was tested from 2000-2002 at the University of Toronto by examining 30 infants suspected or proven to have NEC. The results of examinations using color Doppler sonography (CDS) against those using abdominal x-rays showed that the CDS results were a more sensitive and detailed, according to the study.
Additional benefits of CDS include its ability to show the severity of the NEC giving physicians more treatment options, it is non-invasive, and free of ionizing radiation, the study said.