Pediatric adrenal trauma: evaluation and follow-up with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)

Adrenal trauma is rarely encountered in the pediatric population, often as a component of multi-organ injury and often presenting with hematoma formation. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) is the established imaging modality both for initial evaluation and follow-up of patients with blunt abdominal trauma. In children, radiation exposure should be minimized and alternative imaging strategies are needed. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has recently been successfully used for evaluation of patients with hepatic, renal and splenic injury. We present three cases of children with post-traumatic adrenal hematomas, which were initially diagnosed with CECT and subsequently followed up with CEUS, suggesting that CEUS may be considered for follow-up of adrenal injuries in children. CEUS improves the diagnostic capabilities by increasing tissue contrast and spatial resolution, readily differentiating viable from necrotic tissue in comparison to conventional ultrasound without the risk of iodine contrast agents and ionizing radiation of repeated CECT examinations. © 2016, Società Italiana di Ultrasonologia in Medicina e Biologia (SIUMB).