Establishment of Local Reference for Left Liver Lobe Dimensions in Normal Sudanese School Age Children Using Ultrasonography

Liver size varies widely with age. Many diseases can affect liver size, ranging from infective processes to malignant disorders. Palpation and percussion are the standard physical techniques to assess liver size, but are far from accurate to detect small increase in size. Ultrasound (US) is an extremely important imaging method in the evaluation of the liver in children. normative data on liver dimensions of children remain scanty in our population. The objective of this study was to establish a local reference for the left liver lobe dimensions using ultrasound in Sudanese school age. A cross-sectional prospective study of 150 healthy boys and girls, their ages were between 6 and 13 year-old, 65 (43 %) of them were boys and 85 (57 %) were girls. In a primary schools this study was carried out between March 2016 to September 2016. Sex, age, weight (WT), and height (HT) of the participants were measured. Ultrasound Measurements, craniocaudal (CC), anteroposterior (AP) lengths and width, were taken in deep inspiration with the subjects holding their breath briefly. No preparation or sedation was used. Measurements were made with the subjects lying in supine position with relaxed abdominal wall. Data were compiled and analyzed using Microsoft Excel program version 2013. After categorisation the subjects based on age the maximum mean of the CC length was 93.7mm and minimum mean was 68.9mm. The maximum mean of width was 44.4mm and minimum was mean 34mm. The maximum mean of AP was 37.7mm and minimum was mean 25.2mm. In all measurements the mean in boys was higher than girls within the same age group. The measurements of left liver lobe were correlated with age, height and weight, using polynomial correlation. The study showed the length of CC of left liver lobe was affected by gender. Age had the strongest correlation among the other variables. In conclusion, the CC length is a good indicator for left liver lobe size. Also, ultrasound must be the first line in diagnose hepatic disease, especially those accompanied with changes in the size and texture.