Sonography of the normal and abnormal stomach (excluding hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in children.

Prospective sonographic evaluation after water ingestion in 25 normal children aged 2 days to 15 years (mean 6.3 years) demonstrated that normal gastric wall thickness was less than 3 mm. Gastric walls of 5-15 mm thickness were seen in nine of about 6500 children undergoing abdominal sonographic examinations. These nine patients had a variety of unusual diseases, including varioliform gastritis, gastric ulcer, lymphoid hyperplasia, and gastric hamartoma. Previously unreported sonographic appearances were seen. The sonographic examination was instrumental in the detection of five clinically unsuspected gastric lesions and helpful in follow-up in four others.