There is an opinion among the people that problems with blood vessels are characteristic mainly of adults and even the elderly. However, in childhood, starting from birth, circulatory disorders are no less common.
Most often, infants undergo ultrasonography of the vessels of the head and neck. We will tell you about what this survey is, how it is done and what it shows in this article.
The essence of the survey
Ultrasound tends to be reflected from tissues and media of different densities. This, in fact, is the basis of the ultrasound method.
Doppler ultrasound - ultrasound doppler is a type of ultrasound scanning, only ultrasound waves in this case are reflected not from organs, but from red blood cells - large erythrocytes. Thus, it becomes possible to measure the speed and volume of blood flow through the vessels. The method makes it possible to establish how individual parts of the brain and the entire brain are supplied with blood.
Doppler of the cervical spine and brain allows you to determine with sufficient accuracy whether the lumen of the vessels is normal. Conventional ultrasound of blood vessels gives only a general idea of their structure. But the processes that occur in them are assessed based on duplex scanning.
For a newborn, a baby and an older child, the duplex is considered the best option for research, which gives more complete information about the state of the vessels of the head and neck.
Is it harmful or not?
The dangers of Doppler are mainly talked about by those who have a poor idea of the principle of this study. Since it is based on ultrasound, ultrasound is considered a harmless and completely painless non-invasive method.
Ultrasound does not affect organs, tissues, blood cells, does not cause their mutations, does not disrupt functions. It is only reflected and returned back as a signal on the monitor. This is how the image is obtained, which the doctor and the patient see on ultrasound and ultrasound.
The long-term effects of ultrasound exposure on the body have not been sufficiently studied, it is this fact that gives food for reasoning to opponents of the method. They usually keep silent about the fact that there is no information about the harm either.
Indications
If an ultrasound scan of the child's brain is performed at 1 month without fail, since the study is included in the comprehensive screening of babies, then the ultrasound scan is not considered mandatory and is recommended only for those who have certain medical indications.
For an infant, a Doppler study can be recommended in case of signs of hypoxia, after head injuries, as well as for babies born as a result of difficult childbirth who have received birth trauma.
Some neurological abnormalities that a doctor will notice in a baby may also require a separate assessment of cerebral blood supply. These include:
- frequent crying, difficulty falling asleep;
- profuse and regular regurgitation;
- too high or decreased muscle tone;
- the child's lag in physical and mental development.
At an older age, reasons for prescribing a diagnosis may be frequent headaches, dizziness attacks in a child, cases of loss of consciousness, convulsions, frequent nausea and vomiting, and increased fatigue.
Children who are already 3 years old are often prescribed ultrasound scan of the vessels of the head and neck due to complaints from parents of restlessness, weak memory, low learning ability, behavioral problems, delayed speech and psycho-emotional development.
Since the procedure is considered harmless, parents can do such an examination for a child without a referral from a doctor, visiting, for example, a private clinic specializing in ultrasound for children.
How is it done?
Doppler diagnostics are carried out in the same way as a conventional ultrasound scan, in the same office and on the most ordinary hospital couch. To obtain information, an ultrasound sensor is used, the results are obtained in two forms - ultrasound data and Doppler.
The sensor is applied to the child to the locations of the important vessels that feed the brain. Such places are located on the back of the head, temples, and also in the eye area. The vessels of the neck are examined with the patient lying on the couch on his stomach. The entire examination takes no more than 5-10 minutes.
The mother's babies are held in their arms during the diagnosis. Older children may well lie on the couch on their own. But if the child is very afraid, the mother is allowed to sit next to him on the couch at the time of the examination.
Do you need preparation?
Such an ultrasound does not require diet and fasting. If the baby is in infancy, try to make sure that the baby is well fed and calm at the time of the examination. Ideally, if he goes through the procedure right in his sleep. Therefore, before visiting the doctor's office, feed him well.
Children who have come out of infancy and have already learned to understand what adults are trying to convey to them are recommended to tell in advance as much as possible about what awaits them.
You can take a small object and move it over the child's head, "playing" with it in ultrasound. Then the baby will be psychologically ready for the examination and the chances of a sudden tantrum in the doctor's office will significantly decrease.
Before the examination, it is undesirable to give the child strong tea, as well as pain relievers and antispasmodic drugs that affect the state of blood vessels.
If a child takes certain vascular drugs for health reasons, you should not refuse to take it, but the doctor must be warned before starting the study about what drugs, in what dose and for what reason your child is receiving.
What does it show?
The method shows the tone of the vascular walls of veins and arteries. If the tone is increased, blood supply can be difficult, which will immediately affect the functioning of the brain and the entire central nervous system.
If there are stenoses (narrowing), varicose veins (enlargements) or occlusions, the doctor will definitely inform about this, since the blood flow rate will be different from the norm. If necessary, the doctor will assess the structure of the vessel walls.
Thanks to this, it is possible to identify such disorders as minimal cerebral dysfunction, hypoxia, encephalopathy, increased intracranial pressure. The method is used to assess the degree of damage in meningitis, hydrocephalus, after traumatic brain injury.
If an ultrasound scan of the vessels of the head and neck is recommended for a child, it is better to do it. Parents' refusal to be tested can have extremely negative consequences: problems with blood circulation in the brain worsen over time if the child does not receive treatment.
How dopplerography of the vessels of the head and neck is performed, see below.
