Usefulness of ultrasonography in diagnosis of intestinal obstruction by a water bead
- Author:
Yoon Soo KIM
1
;
Hyeon Joon JUNG
;
Seo Yeol CHOI
;
Kyung Sik HONG
;
Ju-Hee SEO
;
Jeong Rye KIM
;
Youn Joon PARK
;
Kunsong LEE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Case Report
- From:Pediatric Emergency Medicine Journal 2023;10(1):45-48
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
- Abstract: Water beads are dangerous foreign bodies causing intestinal obstruction in young children because the beads absorb water and are radiolucent. Although the features lead to progressive intestinal obstruction, it is difficult to diagnose ingestion of the beads by imaging studies. For the diagnosis, ultrasonography is safe, fast, and accurate. The imaging modality can show intestinal water beads as spherical, anechoic, smoothly demarcated cysts. This characteristic finding may be more useful in rapid and accurate diagnosis than computed tomography scan. We report a case of an 8-month-old boy who obtained a timely sonographic diagnosis of water bead-induced small bowel obstruction in the emergency department.
