Advanced Imaging of Children in the ED: Ultrasound, CT, and MRI

In this episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, Brad Sobolewski discusses advanced imaging in pediatric emergency care with Dr. Jennifer Marin ([email protected]) from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. They explore the evidence behind ultrasound, CT, and MRI, strategies to reduce low-value imaging, and the role of shared decision-making in selecting the appropriate diagnostic test.

Learning Objectives

1. Demonstrate the ability to use shared decision-making strategies when discussing imaging options with families of pediatric patients presenting to the Emergency Department. (Bloom’s: Apply; Kirkpatrick Level 2 – Learning)
2. Evaluate the risks and benefits of ultrasound, CT, and MRI for common pediatric emergencies and identify appropriate imaging modalities based on clinical guidelines discussed in the podcast. (Bloom’s: Analyze; Kirkpatrick Level 3 – Behavior):
3. Assess the impact of implementing strategies for reducing low-value imaging in the pediatric emergency department on patient care outcomes, including diagnostic accuracy, radiation exposure, and healthcare costs. (Bloom’s: Evaluate; Kirkpatrick Level 4 – Results)

Connect with Brad Sobolewski

• PEMBlog: PEMBlog.com
• Blue Sky: @bradsobo
• X (Twitter): @PEMTweets
• Instagram: Brad Sobolewski
• Mastodon: @[email protected]

References

1. Marin JR, Lyons TW, Claudius I, et al; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Section on Radiology; American College of Emergency Physicians Pediatric Emergency Medicine Committee; American College of Radiology. Optimizing Advanced Imaging of the Pediatric Patient in the Emergency Department: Policy Statement. Pediatrics. 2024;154(1):e2024066854. doi:10.1542/peds.2024-066854. PubMed
2. Marin JR, Lyons TW, Claudius I, et al; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Section on Radiology; American College of Emergency Physicians Pediatric Emergency Medicine Committee; American College of Radiology. Optimizing Advanced Imaging of the Pediatric Patient in the Emergency Department: Technical Report. Pediatrics. 2024;154(1):e2024066855. doi:10.1542/peds.2024-066855. PubMed

Transcript

Note: This transcript was partially completed with the use of the Descript AI and the Chat GPT 4o AI

Welcome to PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast. As always, I’m your host, Brad Sobolewski, and in today’s episode, we are diving into a critical topic that every clinician in the emergency department encounters: we are talking about advanced imaging. Wait, so is this like an upper-level college course?

No. Advanced imaging, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American College of Radiology, refers to diagnostic modalities like ultrasound, computed tomography or CT, and magnetic resonance imaging or MRI that provide detailed visualization of the internal structures of our patients to aid in the evaluation and management of the kids that we see in the ED.

So it’s the name for all of the cool imaging studies that we order on all of our patients, and they are essential for doing our daily jobs and identifying serious conditions like traumatic brain injuries, appendicitis, and stroke. There’s also risks. We’re talking about radiation exposure, having to sedate patients, false positive results, incidental findings that we have to deal with, and the obvious incre