[Value of comprehensive evaluation of bladder structure and function in children by multi-modal ultrasound]

To comprehensively evaluate the structure and function of the bladder wall in children using multi-modal ultrasound (MMU). A total of 110 children without urinary symptoms admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2022 to June 2023 were included prospectively. MMU was performed and the vesical volume (VV), bladder wall thickness (BWT), shear wave velocity (SWV) of the anterior wall, resistance index (RI) and vascularization index (VI) were measured in the filled and emptied bladder respectively, and the ultrasound bladder compliance (UBC) was also calculated. The differences in MMU parameters in children among different bladder states, age groups and sexes and the correlation between age and different MMU parameters were analyzed. The age of 110 children was (6.4±3.5) years, of which 60 were boys (54.5%). The VV [127.00 (79.00, 219.50) vs 6.65 (5.10, 9.60) ml, P<0.001] and SWV [(2.25±0.36) vs (1.54±0.20) m/s, P<0.001] of filling condition were higher than that of emptying condition, while BWT [(2.52±0.25) vs (6.72±0.74) mm, P<0.001] and VI [(4.36±0.52)% vs (8.15±1.75) %, P<0.001] were lower than that of emptying condition. There were no significant differences in VV, BWT, SWV, RI, VI and UBC between boys and girls under either bladder emptying or filling conditions (all P>0.05). BWT in emptying condition, VV and BWT in filling condition all increased with age (r was 0.706, 0.891 and 0.298, respectively, and all P<0.05). MMU in children contributes to the comprehensive evaluation of bladder wall, and the influence of age and bladder filling state should be considered when evaluating MMU parameters.