ABSTRACT Introduction/Aims Nerve ultrasound is becoming increasingly important for diagnosing and monitoring peripheral nerve disorders in children. This research seeks to determine reference values for ultrasound cross‐sectional area (CSA) and elastography of peripheral nerves in healthy children from northern China. Methods A total of 150 healthy children aged 2–16 years were recruited. To make the results more intuitive and applicable, the CSA data were divided into five age groups and the elastography data into two. The CSA measurements included nerves of the cervical region (C5, C6, vagus), upper limb (median, ulnar, radial), and lower limb (sciatic, tibial, common peroneal, sural). Shear wave velocity (SWV) measurements were performed solely on the median nerve in the right forearm. t Tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare the data. Results The average CSA of all nerves increased with age, particularly in the sciatic, tibial, and common peroneal nerves. No sex‐based differences were observed in nerve CSA, which increased with weight and height. Among groups categorized by weight and height, significant differences were noted in the larger nerves, with the exception of the vagus and sural nerves. The mean median nerve SWV in this cohort was 3.48 ± 0.62 m/s, with no significant variations attributable to sex, age, height, weight, or CSA. Discussion In children, nerve CSA as measured by ultrasound changes with age, height, and weight, while median nerve SWV values remain consistent despite these variations.
Wang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.