Abdominal, Renal and Bowel Ultrasound in Children

09:00-09:40   Theoretical Part I – Ultrasound anatomy of the Parenchymatous Abdominal Organs

                       (Filothei Chatzispyroglou)

• Examination technique and patient position
• Topographic anatomy of the upper abdomen
• Standard scanning planes and landmarks
• Normal sonographic anatomy of:

1. Major upper abdominal vessels
2. Liver
3. Pancreas
4. Spleen

• Age related normal findings in children and adolescents
• Documentation standards

Common aged-related pathological findings (Ilias Tsiflikas)

• Neonatal cholestasis and biliary abnormalities
• Hepatomegaly and diffuse lever disease
• Focal liver lesions
• Splenomegaly
• Incidental findings and normal variants

09:20-10:20   Theoretical part II – Ultrasound of the Kidneys and Urinary Tract (Ilias Tsiflikas)

• Examination technique and standard protocols
• Renal topography and anatomical landmarks
• Normal sonographic anatomy of:

1. Kidneys
2. Renal pelvis and calyceal system
3. Ureters
4. Urinary bladder

• Aged -related normal findings
• Standard measurements and Documentation

Common aged-related pathological findings

• Antenatal urinary tract dilatation
• Hydronephrosis
• CAKUT (congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract)
• Urinary tract inflection / pyelonephritis
• Vesicoureteral reflux (sonographic clues)

10:20-10:30   Coffee break

10:30-12:00   Hands on session – Abdominal and renal sonoanatomy

Practical training in small groups

• Scanning technique and probe handling
• Liver, pancreas, spleen
• Bladder assessment
• Standard planes and image optimisation
• Documentation of normal findings

12:00-12:20   Theoretical part III – Fundamentals of Bowel Ultrasound in Children and Adolescents                                   (Filothei Chatzispyroglou)

• Indications and Limitations
• Patient preparation
• Graded compression technique
• Standard scanning protocols
• Normal bowel wall anatomy
• Normal findings in children

12:20-12:40   Theoretical part IV – Chronic and Subacute Bowel Disorders in Pediatric Patients

                       (Filothei Chatzispyroglou and Ilias Tsiflikas)

• Inflammatory bowel disease  (IBD)
• Infectious ileocolitis (subacute presentation)
• Chronic constipation and faecal impaction
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Overview of imaging patterns in chronic bowel disease
• Diagnostic principles and follow-up strategies

12:40-14:00   Hands on session – Chronic Bowel Untrasound practice

Practical training in small groups

• Graded compression technique
• Terminal Ileum and ileocalecal region
• Bowel wall assessement in chronic disease
• Recognition of inflammatory vs functional patterns
• Case – based training and image interpretation (IBD, constipation)

14:00-14:30   Lunch break

14:30-15:00   Τheoretical part V – Acute Abdomen in Children: Syndromic Ultrasound approach and                                   assessement of the right lower quadrant (Ilias Tsiflikas, Filothei Chatzispyroglou)

• Clinical approach and epidemiology
• Age-depended differential diagnosis
• Structured Ultrasound strategy in acute abdomen
• Sonographic red flags
• Integrated differential diagnosis:

1. Acute appendicitis
2. Mesenteric lymphadenitis
3. Intussusception
4. Acute infectious ileocolitis
5. Crohn disease
6. Meckel diverticulum
7. Ovarian pathology
8. Urinary tract disease
9. Hepatobiliary pathology
10. Pitfalls and limitations

15:00-16:30   Hands on session – Acute Abdomen and Right Lower Quadrant Ultrasound

Practical training in small groups

• Structure acute abdomen scanning
• Appendix localisation
• Ileocaecal region assessement
• Lymph node evaluation
• Bowel wall pathology recognition
• Case-based simulations
• Interactive scanning exercises

16:30-16:45   Quiz and interactive case discussion

• Image based Quiz
• Normal vs Pathological findings
• Clinical case discussion

16:45             Course summary and Closing Remarks

• Take – home messages
• Discussion
• Closing of course