{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T06:58:22Z","timestamp":1785308302147,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785283200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82371716"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82371716"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100018542","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023NSFSC1634"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023NSFSC1634"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100018542","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pediatr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To synthesize the existing evidence regarding the differences between abdominal ultrasound (AUS) and conventional radiography in detecting necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) features in neonates.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A six-database literature search was conducted to identify relevant English-language studies published prior to April 1, 2026 comparing the detection frequencies of AUS and abdominal x-ray (AXR) for imaging signs of neonatal NEC.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Twenty studies were identified that systematically compared the detection frequencies of AUS vs. AXR for detecting specific NEC features (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20091,793 neonates with confirmed or suspected NEC). AUS detected portal venous gas more frequently than AXR [odds ratio (OR): 2.32; 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.35\u20133.99]] and exhibits a higher, albeit not significant, detection frequency for pneumatosis intestinalis [OR: 1.21; 95% CI (0.82\u20131.80)]. AXR detected pneumoperitoneum [OR: 0.62; 95% CI (0.31\u20131.26)] and intestinal dilatation [OR: 0.51; 95% CI (0.19\u20131.40)] more frequently than AUS, though neither frequency was statistically significant.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>AUS and AXR show different patterns of detection of abnormal signs in NEC, with the former detecting portal gas and pneumatosis intestinalis more frequently than the latter. Combining the two modalities in clinical practice may facilitate earlier recognition and assessment of disease progression in neonatal NEC cases.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fped.2026.1889902","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T05:58:07Z","timestamp":1785304687000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparison of detection frequencies between ultrasonography and abdominal radiography for abnormal signs in necrotizing enterocolitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jinglan","family":"Huang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of the Ministry of Education, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qian","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of the Ministry of Education, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ziqing","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of the Ministry of Education, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of the Ministry of Education, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2452","DOI":"10.1097\/CM9.0000000000002923","article-title":"Mortality, morbidity, and care practices for 1750 very low birth weight infants, 2016\u20132021","volume":"137","author":"He","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chin Med J (Engl)"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2118904","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2021.18904","article-title":"Assessment of neonatal intensive care unit practices, morbidity, and mortality among very preterm infants in China","volume":"4","author":"Cao","year":"2021","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e20171264","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2017-1264","article-title":"Survival in very preterm infants: an international comparison of 10 national neonatal networks","volume":"140","author":"Helenius","year":"2017","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa1403489","article-title":"Causes and timing of death in extremely premature infants from 2000 through 2011","volume":"372","author":"Patel","year":"2015","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapediatrics.2016.2708","article-title":"New medical and surgical insights into neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: a review","volume":"171","author":"Frost","year":"2017","journal-title":"JAMA Pediatr"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1097\/00000658-197801000-00001","article-title":"Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis. 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