Ultrasound for the diagnosis of malrotation and volvulus in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

ContextDespite the advantages of ultrasound (US), upper gastrointestinal contrast series (UGI) remains the first-line diagnostic modality in the diagnosis of midgut malrotation and volvulus in children.ObjectiveEvaluate the diagnostic accuracy of US in the diagnosis of malrotation with or without volvulus in children and adolescents aged 0–21 years, compared with the reference standard (diagnosis by surgery, UGI, CT, MRI, and clinical follow-up individually or as a composite).Data sourcesWe searched the electronic databases Ovid-MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, and the Cochrane library in October 2019 and updated on 18 August 2020.Study selectionStudies evaluating the diagnostic performance of US for diagnosis of midgut malrotation with or without volvulus in children (0–21 years).Data extraction and synthesisThe data were extracted independently by two authors and a bivariate model was used for synthesis.ResultsMeta-analysis of 17 cohort or cross-sectional studies and 2257 participants estimated a summary sensitivity of 94% (95% CI 89% to 97%) and summary specificity of 100% (95% CI 97% to 100%) (moderate certainty evidence) for the use of US for the diagnosis of malrotation with or without midgut volvulus compared with the reference standard. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression revealed better diagnostic accuracy in malrotation not complicated by volvulus, in the neonatal population and enteric fluid administration before US.ConclusionsModerate certainty evidence suggests excellent diagnostic accuracy and coupled with the advantages, a strong case exists for the use of abdominal US as the first-line diagnostic test for suspected midgut malrotation with or without volvulus in children and adolescents.