Availability, utilization, and barriers to bowel ultrasound for necrotizing enterocolitis...

Bowel ultrasound is becoming an important tool for diagnosing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

A national survey included more than 100 neonatologists, surgeons, and radiologists from 42 children's hospitals.

Bowel ultrasound was available in 83% of level 4 NICUs.

Clinicians reported using bowel ultrasound inconsistently, most often only when X-rays were inconclusive.

The biggest barriers to bowel ultrasound use were lack of standardized protocols, limited provider training, and uncertainty about how bowel ultrasound should guide treatment decisions.

Wider adoption of bowel ultrasound for NEC will depend on better evidence, standardized guidelines, and improved clinician training.