Ultrasonic evaluation of intracranial pathology in infants: a new technique.

A prospective study had demonstrated the clinical usefulness of water-delay ultrasound as a means of routinely imaging the intracranial contents in infants younger than one year of age. Correlation between ultrasound and CT images was excellent, showing both normal and pathological anatomy. This technique is most helpful in the detection of hydrocephalus and other "fluid lesions" (subdural hygroma or hematoma, Dandy-Walker cyst, porencephalic cyst) and in evaluation of response to therapy. Because small amounts of intraventricular and subependymal hemorrhage cannot be detected by ultrasound, CT remains the procedure of choice when these conditions are suspected. The water-delay method is accurate and inexpensive, rarely requires patient sedation, and avoids exposure to ionizing radiations.