Purpose or Case Report: The use of computed tomography (CT) in radiology has risen dramatically over the past 2 decades. Over 7 million pediatric CT studies per year are performed in the United States. Children are particularly at risk for the cumulative adverse lifetime effects of ionizing radiation. It is associated with a small but significant increase in lifetime risk of fatal cancer. For this reason, the campaign of “Imaging Gently” was created, whose purpose is to raise awareness of the opportunities to lower radiation dose in the imaging of children. Minimizing the dose in children is a high priority in pediatric radiology, and as a result the use of modalities utilizing non-ionizing radiation is encouraged.

For the reasons discussed above, ultrasound is often the first line tool in the diagnosis of pediatric emergencies. The purpose of this educational article is to further discuss “imaging gently” and the importance of utilizing non-ionizing radiation such as ultrasound to diagnose various pediatric emergencies. These emergencies include but are not limited to acute appendicitis, hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, intussusception, testicular torsion, and ovarian torsion. The imaging technique, pertinent findings, differential diagnosis, imaging pitfalls and treatment will be discussed. Image-rich examples of each diagnosis will be provided.
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