Office urologic ultrasound in pediatric patients

We use office ultrasound to supplement the pediatric urologist's office examination and follow the European model (J. Cukier, personal communication). The study can better serve the child and the family in this setting. We have shown that office ultrasound is an excellent primary screening modality, being both practical and accurate. The portable ultrasound machines now available should permit widespread use of office ultrasonography. However, office studies are not intended to replace studies with the more sophisticated and costly ultrasound machines used in radiology departments, only to complement them. We believe the primary uses of in-office examination in children at present are evaluating for detrusor thickness, residual urine volume, bladder capacity, hydronephrosis, and hydroureter; postoperative follow-up of hydronephrosis; screening for sibling uropathology; screening for occult uropathology in cases of gross hematuria; and study of voiding dysfunction or urinary infection. Experience has taught us that the better we become in performing in office ultrasound examinations, the better we use ancillary radiologic tests.