That you need to undergo an ultrasound. How to prepare for an ultrasound of the abdominal organs. Kidneys and bladder

Modern medicine allows us to perform a lot of research. It is useful for every person to have an ultrasound from time to time internal organs to know about your health status. This study is carried out regularly every year or independently when certain symptoms are detected.

How to prepare for an abdominal ultrasound

If you are planning to undergo this examination soon, there are several rules to consider. In order to correctly identify certain pathologies in a patient, diagnostics are carried out on an empty stomach, usually in the morning. If you need to undergo an ultrasound examination, then you need to start preparing well in advance. First of all, it is important to go on a special diet (3 days before the session). It will help prevent excessive gas formation in the intestines. The basic rule of nutrition is maintaining water balance and eating in small portions.

Avoid foods that cause gas accumulation in the stomach and intestines:

fresh fruits;
legumes;
buns;
Rye bread;
fatty fish;
sweets;
meat;
dairy products;
alcohol;
carbonated drinks;
coffee;
fruit juices.

Additionally, patients are advised not to consume mints or chew gum before an ultrasound examination is performed. Smoking is also not advisable, because it causes stomach cramps, which can affect the diagnosis. Before the procedure, you can eat various steamed foods, soft-boiled eggs, chicken or water porridge.

Additionally, you can take some medications before the procedure, for example, Activated carbon or Simethicone (this will help reduce gas formation). Festal, Pancreatin or Mezim help improve the digestion process. Simethicone is taken in the morning the day before the test. Two days before the procedure, you can cleanse the intestines with an enema. If you often experience constipation, you can take a herbal laxative in the evening (before visiting the doctor). Sometimes suppositories containing Bisacodyl are administered.

Indications for ultrasound examination

Ultrasound diagnostics can be part of a routine examination or prescribed if the patient has certain symptoms:

Pain in the abdominal area.
Throbbing pain, raising suspicion of appendicitis.
Suspected ascites, especially in a child.
Heaviness under the ribs ( Right side).
Bitterness in the mouth, belching.
Suspicions of hepatosis, hepatitis (liver disease).
Differential diagnosis. Prescribed for suspected jaundice, diseases of the pancreas or urinary system.
Stone control gallbladder(in the presence of).
If a tumor is detected during palpation of the child’s abdomen, an ultrasound examination is prescribed to exclude pyloric stenosis or pyloric spasm.

The study can be carried out according to indications:

To assess the clinical picture of diseases: malaria, infectious mononucleosis, sepsis. As a rule, these diseases are accompanied by changes in the size of the spleen or liver.
Difficulty urinating (or discomfort) can also be an indication for ultrasound of the kidneys and OBP.
After injuries to the lower back or abdomen, an ultrasound examination may be prescribed if the patient complains of decreased appetite, sudden weight loss, or weakness.
An ultrasound scan is required before surgery on the internal organs of the retroperitoneal space.
During pregnancy, women are prescribed this procedure several times. This is necessary to examine the unborn child, monitor its development, and identify pathologies in time.

How to do an ultrasound

This research method shows damage to internal organs. It is of great importance for accurately recognizing the extent of their damage. It is useful for patients to know how an ultrasound is performed abdominal cavity and what stages are included in the procedure:

The patient is in a horizontal position on the couch.
The radiologist applies a special gel to the skin of the abdomen, which helps to establish close contact between the human body and the reading device.
The subject should not move during the examination and examination, so as not to confuse the results shown by the sensor.
For good visibility of the patient’s internal organs, the doctor asks you to follow some commands (inhale deeply, hold your breath).

It is not recommended to do an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity after endoscopy, gastrography or irrigoscopy. If the patient has the results of previous studies, they are necessarily taken into account to track the dynamics. Ultrasound is prescribed to pregnant women to study the fetus (anatomy and condition). In addition, the procedure is prescribed for vascular Doppler scanning and prenatal diagnosis. Ultrasound helps identify problems with the ovaries in women and pathology of the uterus.

How to do an ultrasound of the intestine:

The patient assumes a horizontal position (on his back).
The doctor applies a special gel to the part of the skin being examined.
Using an ultrasound sensor, the specialist sees on the screen all changes in the organ.
Sometimes the sensor is inserted into the rectum (another method of examination if indicated).

What are they watching?

Consider what an abdominal ultrasound shows. You might consider:

Abdominal ultrasound protocol

During the procedure, all data obtained is recorded on paper. After the patient has undergone an ultrasound, he receives a study protocol, which reflects the following points:

in which direction the ultrasound was performed (from head to feet);
type of study (frontal section);
area of study (from the diaphragm to the pelvic cavity);
in what mode the ultrasound was performed (spiral).

In addition, the protocol contains data on ultrasound phases, which differ:

Native – during routine examination.
Arterial, venous, native - in the assessment of neoplasms, angiography.
Delayed, vascular and native – when examining the kidneys.

Additional information recorded in the ultrasound protocol:

slice (thickness);
did you hold your breath during the process (required, yes).

Where to do an ultrasound of OBP

Ultrasound examinations are performed in many medical centers. The procedure is available free of charge to patients in the city clinic (if there is a referral from a doctor). An alternative to this option is paid clinics. As a rule, in the second case the process goes faster due to the absence of queues. You can make an appointment for an abdominal ultrasound in commercial clinics on weekends and weekdays. For a municipal institution, such a regime is impossible; reception here is carried out on certain days, distributing the machine’s time in advance.

Interpretation of ultrasound of the abdominal cavity

Organs are considered healthy if:

no signs of tissue proliferation were found;
there is no liquid inside the BP;
spleen, pancreas, liver normal size;
there are no signs of an aneurysm;
aortic diameter is normal;
there is no dilation of the bile ducts;
the walls of the gallbladder are of normal thickness;
no kidney stones;
there are no neoplasms in the gallbladder;
the outflow of urine is not impaired;
the buds have a characteristic shape and outline.

Video

The human body. There are a number of recommendations that should be followed before doing this procedure. If they are not followed, the diagnosis will not be accurate. The main stage of preparation is a special diet that must be followed. Compliance with all nutritional recommendations is as important a stage in the examination of the abdominal cavity as the ultrasound procedure itself. The quality of examination using ultrasound depends on the qualifications of the specialist who conducts it. And responsibility for the preparatory stage lies entirely with the patient.

What is being studied?

During the procedure, the following parameters of the body are examined:

Stomach condition.
Patient's liver.
Gallbladder.
Pancreatic gland.
Kidney.

In women, the uterus and appendages are diagnosed. In men, the condition of the prostate gland is assessed.

Peculiarities

You should know that the intestines, both large and small, are difficult to examine. This is due to its structural features. The fact is that the intestinal cavities do not allow ultrasound to be reflected in such a way that it would be possible to assess its condition with high accuracy. However, through this study, gross changes can be seen.

If there is food or gases accumulated in the intestines during an ultrasound, then the result may be distorted when examining other organs of the abdominal cavity.

Therefore, when preparing for this type of study, it is necessary to avoid products that can cause spasms, gas formation, or other complicating processes.

Preparation

It is necessary to begin the preparatory process a few days before the ultrasound. To do this, you should start limiting yourself from taking a whole list of products. The ultrasound examination itself is performed on the patient on an empty stomach. Therefore, on the day of the procedure, you must refrain from eating any food.
What foods should you exclude from your menu during the preparatory process before the procedure? It is recommended to start preparing a few days before the procedure. Namely, in three days. The preparatory stage is that the patient will need to switch to a gentle type of nutrition. First of all, you should remove foods that contribute to the formation of gas or any irritation.

There is a certain list of undesirable products, it will be given below.

Dairy products (milk)

What can you eat before an abdominal ultrasound, and what foods should you avoid? Let's figure it out now. Dairy products, namely milk, should be excluded. The fact is that it contains lactose.

The older a person is, the fewer elements in his body that contribute to the breakdown of lactose. If lactose remains on the intestinal walls, the fermentation process will begin and, as a result, gases will appear. In addition to milk, a similar reaction can occur from consuming fermented milk products, namely kefir, sour cream, yogurt, and so on. The accumulation of such substances as lactose from fermented milk products will be much less. But it is better if the patient refuses to use them.

Fruits

You shouldn't eat fruit. This is due to the fact that they contain fructose. It is a type of sugar.

When fructose enters the human body in large quantities, the fermentation process also begins. You should not eat fruits and berries several days before an ultrasound examination.

Bread

In that simple product contained a large number of complex carbohydrate-type compounds. They are called polysaccharides. Gases also appear when they enter the intestines. You should know that you should not completely exclude bread from your diet. But you need to limit yourself in its use. It will be better if the patient eats white bread.

It is not recommended to consume black or rye before an ultrasound examination. You should also not eat buns, cakes and other sweets. Since they can negatively affect the results of the study.

Legumes

Legumes such as soybeans, beans, and peas provoke gas formation. This is due to the fact that they contain polysaccharides. During the digestion stage, these elements can cause increased levels of gas formation. Therefore, you should refuse to eat them.

There are a number of vegetables that are also best avoided. These include cabbage, potatoes, asparagus, onions, and corn. They also contain polysaccharides.

Fatty food

Foods high in fat are prohibited. This category includes fatty meat and fish. They cause fat to accumulate in the stomach, which promotes gas production.

You need to give up carbonated drinks. This is due to the fact that, firstly, they include carbon dioxide. It is a gas in itself. And secondly, drinks in this category include coloring substances. They can cause the stomach walls to undergo a process of irritation. And this will complicate obtaining accurate indicators of the condition of the abdominal cavity through ultrasound examination.

Also, avoid using spices and spices. They can cause irritation processes. Spices include: pepper, cinnamon, cumin and others.

What drink?

Is it possible to drink before an abdominal ultrasound? In addition to the above food products, tea can cause irritation of internal organs, especially if it is strong. You also don't need to drink coffee. In addition, you should not drink drinks that contain alcohol. Smoking is also not recommended. The fact is that nicotine has negative impact on the human body. Therefore, it is worth giving up smoking at least for a few days. When smoking, a person swallows air, which settles in the stomach. This process has a bad effect on ultrasound. Swallowing air also occurs while chewing gum. In this regard, it is necessary to abandon this process before carrying out the procedure.

Food

What can you eat before an abdominal ultrasound? Above is a list of foods that are not recommended to be consumed before an ultrasound examination. This list quite big. Many people may wonder what diet they should follow in order to prepare their body for the procedure. Is it possible to eat before an abdominal ultrasound? It is necessary that food is easily absorbed by the body. Below is a list of foods that can be eaten.

First of all, these are porridges; they should be cooked in water without milk. You can eat rice, buckwheat, oatmeal.

Meat can also be eaten, but only if it is lean. For example, poultry or beef. It must be boiled or steamed.

What can you eat before an abdominal ultrasound? Low-fat and boiled fish, as well as cheese with minimal fat content, are also allowed.

You can use a soft-boiled egg. You can eat it once a day, not more often.

Don't overload your stomach!

What can you eat before an abdominal ultrasound? We have already found this out. There is one more rule that must be followed. No need to transfer. Because it will overload the stomach. It is necessary to eat small portions, but more often. For example, you can eat food 5 or 6 times a day. In this case, a certain time interval between meals must be observed. It is 3 or 4 hours. There are also recommendations for direct food intake. They consist in the fact that food should be chewed with some care. Under no circumstances should you swallow food in large pieces. This will lead to air entering the body along with food, and this should not be allowed.

Tea and water

Can I drink water and tea before an abdominal ultrasound? Yes. But the tea should not be strong. The volume of liquid can reach up to one and a half liters per day.
It is also not recommended to eat before bed.

Especially if an ultrasound is scheduled for morning hours. In this case, the last meal of food should be no later than eight o'clock in the evening.

Before the procedure

Is it possible to eat before an abdominal ultrasound? You should not drink before the procedure. If the abdominal examination is scheduled for the afternoon, you can have breakfast. Meals should include only permitted foods. You should finish eating any food before 11 am if the ultrasound is scheduled for 3 pm.

Features of drinking water

Can I have water before an abdominal ultrasound? There are exceptions to these rules. Namely, when examining the bladder and pelvic organs in women, the doctor may ask the patient to drink a certain amount of liquid immediately before the procedure.

If a person has any digestive problems, he should notify the doctor. In this case, the patient will be prescribed special medications that will help him cope with this or that problem. For example, to get rid of constipation or higher level gases

Conclusion

Now you know what you can eat before an abdominal ultrasound, and what you should avoid. We hope that our recommendations will help you.

Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity is a diagnostic procedure that helps determine the exact parameters of internal organs: their location, size, structure and condition. The study is completely safe and painless, does not cause side effects.

What can affect the ultrasound result?

Modern equipment allows you to obtain fairly accurate ultrasound results. This diagnostic method gives the doctor the opportunity to early stages identify any abnormalities in the internal organs of the abdominal cavity. Despite the high accuracy of the study, the results obtained are influenced by:

We strongly recommend that you carefully prepare for the ultrasound. If you follow all the rules, it will be much easier to view the condition of the internal organs. Of course, not all factors can be dealt with in a week, but the impact of some of them can be minimized.

Taking medications before an ultrasound

We do not recommend prescribing any special medications to cleanse the body on your own - it is best to consult your doctor, who will select a complete and comprehensive therapy for you. Usually, all remedies before an ultrasound are aimed at eliminating gas formation in the intestines, as well as improving digestion.

To improve the secretory function of the stomach, you need to take Mezim Forte or Festal. Used to cleanse the intestines of accumulated toxins. Smecta or Eneterosgel. The use of activated carbon for these purposes is not justified; such a component has low efficiency.

Do not prescribe special medications for yourself before an abdominal ultrasound - only your attending physician can do this.

Don't forget to take care of cleansing your body in advance. If the intestines are clean during the examination, the results from the ultrasound will be more accurate. To do this, you can use special laxatives or rectal suppositories. These medications should be taken 12 hours before the intended procedure. Also, you can get correct results only if you do not take No-shpa, aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid a few hours before the test.

What should be the diet before an ultrasound?

If an ultrasound of the abdominal organs, which also includes the kidneys, is performed in the morning, then you need to eat your last meal no later than 20.00 the previous day. It is not recommended to drink any liquids in the morning. However, in some cases, ultrasound is performed during the day, after 15.00. In such cases, a person can have breakfast before 11.00.

If you know that you will soon have to undergo an abdominal ultrasound procedure, try to eat properly and nutritiously.

Breakfast should be light and low in calories, after which you should completely abstain from food and any drink. However, you may be asked to drink about a liter of water an hour before the test. This is necessary for better contrast of internal organs. 3-4 days before the ultrasound, you will have to completely review your diet. It should contain:

dietary meat and fish, boiled or stewed;
soft-boiled chicken eggs;
porridge cooked in water;
kefir, yogurt, curdled milk - all fermented milk products;
strong tea;
low-fat cheese and cottage cheese.

While preparing for an ultrasound, try to eat small meals every three hours. For digestive tract it is much easier if you consume food every 3-4 hours. Also try to avoid swallowing air and chew food thoroughly. You need to drink about 1.5-2 liters per day. To quench your thirst, it is best to choose a simple or mineral water without gas.

What foods should you exclude?

To prepare for an ultrasound, 3-4 days are enough. During this time, a person must radically change his diet. During this period, you should completely avoid foods that contribute to the accelerated formation of gases and irritate the gastric mucosa.

Otherwise, the specialist will not be able to obtain accurate and correct results. While preparing for the study, you should refuse:

Strong coffee and tea also irritate the walls of the stomach and slow down the digestion process. Try to completely eliminate such drinks from your diet the day before the test. The consumption of alcohol and alcohol-containing products is also temporarily prohibited. Try to stop chewing gum for a while - it promotes the swallowing of air. Your attending physician should tell you exactly what you can eat before an ultrasound of internal organs. He may also recommend a special diet for patients.

Purgation

Purgation– an obligatory part of the preparatory process for ultrasound of the abdominal cavity. It is best to carry out this procedure in the evening, the day before the examination. To cleanse the intestines you will need an Esmarch mug and a liter of cool, raw water. It is best to give an enema between 16.00 and 18.00 in the evening; you should not do this procedure earlier or later than this time. When you do it, you need to drink simethicone preparations or sorbents 1-2 times. An alternative way to cleanse the body before an ultrasound is:

Use of Fortrans - one sachet is designed for 20 kilograms of body weight, it must be dissolved in a liter of cool water. The resulting mixture is drunk in one hour. Thus, if a person weighs 60 kilograms, he will have to drink 3 sachets within 3 hours.
Microclysters Microlax or Norgalax.
Taking herbal laxatives based on sena.

We strongly do not recommend using lactulose-based drugs, such as Dufalac, Normaze, Prelaxan, to cleanse the intestines. They promote the passage of feces, but cause flatulence - due to the gases that appear in the intestines, a specialist will not be able to examine all organs and tissues.

Before the ultrasound, you need to drink as much ordinary clean water as possible for several days, about two liters per day. It is best to come to the procedure with full bladder. Also try to follow all the recommendations:

If you follow the rules and recommendations of the doctor, ultrasound will show accurate and reliable data about the internal organs.

If during an ultrasound it is also necessary to assess the condition of the kidneys or pelvic organs, you will have to drink about 500 milliliters of pure still water an hour before the examination. It is very important that after this you are not allowed to relieve yourself. Be sure to learn how to prepare for an abdominal ultrasound. This will help you get an accurate examination result.

What will an abdominal ultrasound show?

Abdominal ultrasound is a procedure that helps identify many pathologies in the initial stages. However, the doctor will be able to do this only if all his preparation recommendations are fully followed. If you listen to the advice of your doctor, the specialist will be able to:

You need to consider what to do Only the attending physician should interpret the ultrasound results– you will not be able to evaluate the data obtained correctly. Ultrasound radiation is completely safe, for this reason you can carry out such procedures as many times as you need. If any pathologies are diagnosed in the retroperitoneal space of the patient, he is sent for further examination.

The specialist will see whether the size of the abdominal organs, structure, and wall thickness are normal. This will make it possible to identify existing pathology or confirm its absence, prescribe necessary treatment or additional research.

This is especially important when the patient is not even aware of existing problems and does not feel any pain or even the slightest discomfort. If the problem does not yet cause any sensation, it will be visible. Everyone, without exception, needs to examine internal organs using ultrasound at least once a year.

For the procedure to be successful, certain conditions are necessary. If they are not followed, visualization will be difficult.

Ultrasound diagnostics is indicated if:

organs are increased in size;
there is pain in the abdominal area;
if the patient experiences bitterness in the mouth, discomfort, and pain after eating;
diabetes;
chronic diseases of internal organs;
suspicion of pathological processes in the liver and spleen (pain and their increase detected during palpation);
neoplasms in the abdominal cavity and its organs;
if you suspect stones in the common bile duct;
aortic aneurysm and other pathologies of internal organs.

Ultrasound is used not only for diagnostics, but also to control how certain manipulations are carried out. For example, it is used for liver and kidney biopsies (for needle control). The combination of this procedure with the so-called for thrombosis or stenosis of the abdominal organs is relevant. The examination procedure is simple, effective, non-invasive, painless, which allows the use of ultrasound in various fields of medicine.

How should adults prepare for abdominal diagnostics?

From the physics course we know that air is a poor conducive to the propagation of ultrasound. Therefore, the first step is to reduce gas formation. For this purpose, a few days before the procedure, a diet is indicated in which it is prohibited to consume foods that enhance the process of gas formation. As an addition to the diet, the doctor sometimes prescribes drugs that improve the digestive process and reduce the formation of gases, such as activated charcoal and festal.

Patients suffering from constipation need to take enterosorbents and enzymes, such as festal, mezim-forte, smecta, activated carbon and other drugs. These substances will help reduce the process of gas formation and stimulate digestion. Thanks to these drugs, metabolism will improve, which will make the ultrasound diagnostic procedure more accurate and informative.

With the help of ultrasound diagnostics, it is possible to identify quite serious ailments even before the appearance of their characteristic symptoms, including the following ailments:

benign and malignant oncology of internal organs
cirrhosis of the liver;
stones in the kidneys;
pancreatitis and pancreatic necrosis;
hepatitis;
cholecystitis;
abscesses of internal organs;
the condition of the liver and spleen may indicate systemic blood pathologies.

Diagnostic methods and equipment are constantly being improved, and new types of research appear every day. But, despite this, ultrasound does not lose its popularity and relevance. This procedure was and remains the first one that both doctors and patients turn to. And everything is explained by the advantages that it has:

Ultrasound occurs without damaging the skin.
Accuracy of the study if all preparation conditions are met.
(no ionizing radiation).
No pain or other unpleasant sensations.
Availability and reasonable prices.

So, examination of internal organs using ultrasound is a very effective, accurate and safe procedure that helps to identify many hidden pathological conditions body. But we must not lose sight of the fact that to obtain the most accurate results, proper preparation for an abdominal examination is important. There is no need to worry about side effects or radiation exposure during this procedure. It would be a good idea to take a referral from your GP.