Natalia Kuzmina

By Mikhail Pykov, Natalia Kuzmina, Nikolay Rostovtsev and Alexander Kinzersky

Two hundred healthy children aged 3–18 years were included in the study to determine liver stiffness indices by means of shear wave elastometry. The difference is significant when we compared shear wave velocity in children aged 3–6 years, on the one hand, and in children aged 7–18 years, on the other (p = 0.001). Liver stiffness indices in boys and girls were not different. As a result, liver stiffness indices in children in various age groups have been obtained, which can be recommended as normal ones for pediatric patients.

Part of the book: Ultrasound Elastography

By N.M. Rostovtsev, V.G. Polyakov and N.E. Kuzmina

During the period from 2009 to 2021, 93 patients aged 0–11 years (48 boys and 45 girls) with retroperitoneal tumors were treated. There were 66 patients with nephroblastoma and 27 patients with adrenal neuroblastoma among them. As per treatment strategies, the patients were separated into two groups: the control group and the study group. The control group (comparison) received therapy according to the protocols, whereas the study group consisted of patients who received photodynamic therapy (PDT) in addition to the standard treatment. The control group consists of 47 patients with retroperitoneal tumors, including 35 patients with nephroblastoma and 12 patients with adrenal neuroblastoma. The study group included 46 children: 31 patients with nephroblastoma and 15 patients with adrenal neuroblastoma. The 5-year survival rate in the control group was 74.5%, and it was 91.3% in the study group (p = 0.030). Recurrent tumors developed in 14.9% of the patients in the control group, while in the study group, relapse occurred in 8.7% of the patients (p = 0.357). The PDT used in this study for treatment of retroperitoneal tumors improves the results of surgical treatment. It also appreciably increases the survival rate of patients with retroperitoneal tumors. Overall, PDT is a hopeful antitumor approach and can be effectively used in the complex therapy of retroperitoneal tumors in children.

Part of the book: Radiation Oncology

By Mikhail Pykov, Natalia Kuzmina and Nikolay Rostovtsev

A standard ultrasound examination of the liver was performed in 232 children. It was supplemented by a two-dimensional shear wave elastography. There were 200 healthy children aged 3 to 18 years (control group) and 32 patients with cystic fibrosis aged 2 to 17 years (study group) among them. The procedure was carried out by means of Aixplorer device (Supersonic Imagine, France) using a convex sensor operating in the 1–6 MHz frequency range. Ten measurements of Young modulus values were carried out in different segments of the right lobe of the liver followed by data averaging. In patients with cystic fibrosis, the values of Young modulus were significantly higher than in healthy children (Emean median: 6.50 and 5.00 kPa, interquartile range: 5.62–7.52 and 4.70–5.38 kPa, respectively (p < 0.001). In patients with severe cystic fibrosis, the values of Young modulus were significantly higher compared to patients suffering from moderate disease (Emean median: 7.30 and 5.90 kPa, interquartile range: 6.20–10.70 and 5.20–6.75 kPa, respectively (p < 0.002). Shear wave elastography is a non-invasive technique that can be successfully used in a comprehensive ultrasound assessment of the liver in children with cystic fibrosis to facilitate the diagnosis and monitoring of fibrous changes.

Part of the book: Elastography