Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • AAP Policy
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • Policy
  • Pediatric Collections
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
  • Alerts
    • Table of Contents
    • Insights
  • AAP Career Center
  • Subscribe
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • AAP Policy
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • Policy
  • Pediatric Collections
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
  • Alerts
    • Table of Contents
    • Insights
  • AAP Career Center
  • Subscribe

Differentiate incidental from concerning findings on neuroimaging

Carla Kemp, Senior Editor
June 27, 2019

Editor's note:The 2019 AAP National Conference & Exhibition will take place from Oct. 25-29 in New Orleans.

When kids are asked what they want to be when they grow up, a doctor may be among the common responses. But a neuroradiologist?

For Laura L. Hayes, M.D., FAAP, it made perfect sense.

Many of her family members had a seizure disorder, which sparked her interest in neuroscience at a young age. Coupled with that was the fact that her mom was a sonographer.

“Late night on-call trips with her to the hospital and a high school job as a radiology file clerk guided me towards a career as a pediatric neuroradiologist,” Dr. Hayes said.

Today, she is a pediatric radiologist/neuroradiologist at Nemours Children’s Health System, where she guides, interprets and explains general and advanced imaging of children. One thing she deals with every day are incidental findings on neuroimaging.

“Any time imaging is performed, there is a risk of discovering incidental findings that may cause unnecessary stress,” said Dr. Hayes, a member of the AAP Section on Radiology. 

She will help pediatricians sort out the incidental from the concerning during a session titled “The MRI Showed What? Common Findings on Neuroimaging ” (A2053) from 8:30-10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 in rooms R02-R03 of the convention center. She will be joined by Brandon G. Rocque, M.D., M.S., FAAP, associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at University of Alabama at Birmingham and a member of the AAP Section on Neurological Surgery.

Pediatricians are ordering neuroimaging for a range of conditions, including headaches, seizures, developmental delay, back pain, concerns for tethered cord and trauma.

“It is important to only order studies that are clinically indicated and to give the radiologist a good history,” Dr. Hayes said. “Besides radiologists themselves, the ACR Appropriateness Criteria are a good resource to help determine if a study is indicated, and if so, which one.” 

Common incidental findings include pineal and pituitary cysts, arachnoid cysts, developmental venous anomalies, mild cerebellar tonsillar ectopia and arachnoid granulations, Dr. Hayes said. In older children, tiny signal abnormalities in the white matter are not uncommon.

Drs. Hayes and Rocque aim to help attendees feel more comfortable with pediatric neuroimaging and understand how to deal with incidental findings. They will present cases, give possible diagnoses or treatment options, and have attendees use a response system to choose what they think the correct option is.

“By the end of the session, attendees should feel more at ease with pediatric neuroimaging, especially by having a clear understanding of how to deal with incidental findings,” Dr. Hayes said. “(The) talk will be a fun mix of interesting cases and casual learning.”

For more coverage of the 2019 AAP National Conference & Exhibition, visit http://bit.ly/AAPNationalConference19.

Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics

Advertising Disclaimer »

Download PDF
Email News Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Differentiate incidental from concerning findings on neuroimaging
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
Share
Differentiate incidental from concerning findings on neuroimaging
Carla Kemp
June 27, 2019
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Digital Edition Current Issue
  • Latest Daily News
  • Archives
  • Collections
  • Columns
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe to AAP News Magazine
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Pediatrics
  • Pediatrics in Review
  • Hospital Pediatrics
  • NeoReviews
  • AAP Grand Rounds
  • AAP Career Center
  • shopAAP
  • AAP.org
  • AAP News
  • Visit AAP News on Facebook
  • Follow AAP News on Twitter
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics