Neurosonography of newborns - a method of studying the brain

In modern conditions, neurosonography of newborns is the most accessible and therefore popular method of studying the brain of a young child. This study, based on the general principles of ultrasound studies of the human body, allows us to study the structure of the central nervous system. Nevertheless, one must remember that it is possible to conduct ultrasound of the brain only until the skull of the child completely ossified.

When neurosonography can be performed

Neurosonography of newborns can be carried out, if necessary, even in the first hours after the appearance of the baby. But in the vast majority of cases, this harmless study is done before discharge from the maternity hospital. When performing ultrasound assessment of the anatomical structure of the central nervous system, the location and the relative ratio of individual parts of the brain, the level of intracranial pressure.

It is impossible to overestimate the possibility of this method of ultrasound diagnosis when examining small patients who were born in complicated births or after pregnancy, which occurred with some kind of aggravating factors. Neurosonography of newborns is performed in all these cases. The norms that the doctor who makes ultrasound will be relatively relative, but they help to identify children who need in-depth examination and constant observation of a neurologist and pediatrician.

It should be remembered that this method of diagnosis can be used only in the first year of the child's life: in the absence of pathology at the end of this period, the child completely closes the fontanel fontanel. Ultrasound, which can not penetrate through the bones of the skull, will no longer be an assistant doctor in the study of the brain.

Neurosonography - is it harmful or not?

Today, neurosonography of newborns is performed in virtually any sufficiently equipped maternity hospital. To this category of medical institutions are almost all specialized institutions of obstetrics, as well as maternity wards and obstetric hospitals in large population centers. Modern devices for ultrasound of the brain do not have any side effect, including the radiation load on the body of a small patient.

That is why, if it is necessary to monitor the child dynamically, neurosonography, the norms of which should only be interpreted by a qualified physician, can be carried out often. The specialist should evaluate not only the picture on the screen of the monitor, but also the condition of the child, information about the patient, received from the parents or relatives. Neurosonography does not require preliminary preparation of the baby, it is not necessary to limit the intake of food, liquids or medications, and even it does not matter whether the child sleeps or is awake at the time of ultrasound.

Neurosonography of newborns is carried out using an ultrasound device, which is equipped with a special sensor. It should be located on a large and small fontanel, lateral fontanelles or in the region of the large occipital orifice. When describing the results, the doctor indicates the state of the vascular plexuses of the brain, the meninges, makes a presumptive conclusion about the level of intracranial pressure and the dynamics of the cerebrospinal fluid.

Parents of the child should know that the ultrasound of the brain is a method of preliminary assessment of the state of the nervous system of the child, and if a child is suspected of any pathology or organic developmental disorder, the examination of the baby should be continued. For this, the doctor can recommend magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography, angiography, or other methods of examining the nervous system.