Pattern of Findings among Pediatric Patients Undergoing Abdominal CT scan in Sub-Saharan African Population

Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) with its multiplanar reconstruction is an excellent imaging modality to locate, characterize and differentiate various lesions. Broad spectrum of abdominal lesions can be seen in the pediatrics, which may originate from various organs and can be benign or malignant. The study was retrospectively conducted in the Department of Radiology Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano from March 2020 to September 2020. Ninety request forms and corresponding CT reports were retrieved from radiology archive. Sex, age and clinical indications were obtained from request forms while the CT findings were obtained from the radiologist report. The mean, standard deviation, frequency and range were obtained using descriptive statistics. The data was analyzed using (IBM SPSS) Version 22.0. Abdominal swelling in males and females was 9 (18.8%) and 9 (25.7) respectively and this was reported as the most frequent indication, followed by abdominal mass 6 (12.5%) and 7 (20.0%) and then jaundice 4 (8.3%) and 3 (8.6%) for male and female respectively. The most frequent CT findings was normal study 5 (10.4%) and 7 (20.0%) for males and females respectively, followed by hepatoblastoma 2 (4.2%) for males and cystic intra-abdominal mass 4 (11.4%) with mesenteric cyst as differential for females. This study confirms the potentiality of computed tomography in differentiation and characterization of solid and cystic lesion; however, some cases require further histological approach. Majority of the pediatric abdominal masses are of renal origin followed by hepatobiliary lesions.